# 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment

The 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an air defense artillery battalion in the United States Army based at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. The battalion is subordinate to the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade and the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command (94th AAMDC) and is part of the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment. It is one of three composite Patriot-Avenger battalions currently active.
The battalion consists of a Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB), four Patriot missile batteries (Battery A, Battery B, Battery C, Battery D), one Avenger battery (Battery E), and a maintenance company (Company F).

## History

The 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment was first organized on 01 June 1917 as the 3rd Company, Fort Washington, Maryland. During World War I, the unit was reorganized and redesignated on 17 July 1917 as Battery K, 8th Provisional Regiment (Coast Artillery Corps), deployed to France in August 1917, on 05 February 1918 redesignated as Battery K, 53rd Artillery Regiment (Coast Artillery Corps), and finally redesignated on 15 July 1918 as Battery F, 52nd Artillery Regiment (Coast Artillery Corps) as part of 3d Battalion along with Battery E. The unit was provided with French railway guns and fought in the battles of Aisne-Marne (15-17 July), Champagne (18 July – 25 September), and Meuse-Argonne (26 September – 10 October). The 52nd Artillery Regiment was one of the first American units to return to the United States in December 1918.
The unit was subsequently inactivated on 16 May 1921 and then reactivated on 18 August 1921 at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It received an additional designation on 01 June 1922 as the 229th Company, Coast Artillery Corps, which was removed on 01 July 1924 when it was redesignated as Battery F, 52nd Coast Artillery Regiment. The regiment adopted the motto “Semper Paratus,” Latin for “Always Prepared.” When Fort Eustis was closed in 1931 the unit moved to Fort Monroe, Virginia, home of the Coast Artillery School, and then inactivated on 01 February 1940. The unit was reactivated 08 January 1941 and joined the rest of the 52nd Coast Artillery Regiment at Fort Hancock, New Jersey. On 01 April 1941 the battery was deployed to Bermuda with four 8-inch railway guns. On 20 February 1942 the battery returned to the United States less personnel and equipment. It was reorganized and redesignated on 01 May 1943 as Battery A, 288th Coast Artillery Battalion. The unit remained at the Sandy Hook Proving Ground until it was inactivated on 18 April 1944 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and finally completely disbanded on 14 June 1944.
The unit was reconstituted on 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army and concurrently consolidated with Battery B, 52nd Field Artillery Battalion, an element of the 24th Infantry Division in Japan. The 52nd Field Artillery Battalion (105mm) had been first constituted on 01 October 1933, then activated on 01 October 1941 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii and assigned to the 24th Infantry Division. The battalion supported the 24th Infantry Division during World War II starting at Pearl Harbor and the defense of northern Oahu and then amphibious campaigns in New Guinea, Leyte, Mindoro, Luzon, and Mindanao. The battalion was awarded the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its support in liberating the Philippines. The battalion also participated in the occupation of Japan in Kyushu after World War II.
During the Korean War, the 105mm gun battalion served effectively in the ground support role. Battery B, 52nd Field Artillery Battalion arrived in Busan 07 July 1950 following the defeat of Task Force Smith and Battery A at the Battle of Osan on 05 July 1950, the first US action of the war. The 52d Field Artillery Battalion regrouped at Daejon where they positioned to defend the Kum River Line. On 17 July 1950 Battery B was overran near Tuman-ni, losing all of its howitzers and taking heavy casualties including the Battery Commander and First Sergeant. LTC Charles W. Statton from the 13th Field Artillery Battalion personally rescued Battery B and coordinated the 52d Field Artillery Battalion’s withdraw. After reorganizing and successfully defending the Naktong Bulge along the Pusan Perimeter, the battalion supported the 24th Infantry Division’s counteroffensive all the way to the Yalu River in North Korea before being pushed back by Chinese Communist forces on or about 03 November 1950. The battalion provided fire support and direct fire against the enemy until 22 January 1952 when they rotated to Japan for equipment refit. They returned to Korea 16 July 1953 and resumed fighting on the front lines up to the last day of the Korean War on 27 July 1953. For its courage under fire in Korea, the 52nd Field Artillery Battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and two Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations. The battalion remained on the Demilitarized Zone until they returned to Japan in November 1954 and were finally inactivated on 05 June 1958.
The unit was redesignated on 01 November 1960 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 6th Missile Battalion, 52nd Artillery Regiment with its organic elements concurrently constituted. The battalion was activated on 17 November 1960 at Fort Bliss, Texas. They deployed to Würzburg, Germany in June 1961 as the first operational HAWK battalion in the world. Headquarters and Headquarters Battery and Battery A were located at Emery Barracks in Würzburg, Battery B was located at Larson Barracks in Kitzingen, Battery C was located at Giebelstadt Air Base, and Battery D was located at Peden Barracks in Wertheim am Main. On or about 13 August 1962 the battalion was upordered for three days when the Berlin Wall was built, and Battery A was deployed to the border with East Germany. The unit was redesignated on 20 August 1965 as the 6th Battalion, 52nd Artillery Regiment and then as the 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment on 01 September 1971. The battalion underwent upgrades to I-HAWK in 1973. Battery D would be the first unit under 32nd Army Air Defense Command to achieve a perfect score for a no-notice Operational Readiness Evaluation in 1974 and then would achieve the highest Annual Service Practice score in the Army in 1986. From December 1990 until June 1992, Batteries A and C deployed and participated as part of Task Force 8-43, VII Corps during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait and southern Iraq. Upon return, the battalion continued to serve under NATO until its deactivation as the last forward-deployed HAWK unit. On 05 October 1993 the 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment was inactivated in Würzburg, Germany.
The unit was reactivated when 6th Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment (Patriot) was reflagged to 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment on 16 February 1996 in Ansbach, Germany, having been at Shipton Kaserne since 1986. The battalion would immediately deploy to Saudi Arabia the next day and on 25 June 1996 Soldiers from the unit tended to the wounded after a terrorist attack at the Khobar Towers. The battalion was subsequently awarded the Superior Unit Award for distinguished performance during its 1996 Southwest Asia rotation. On 21 December 1998 Battery F was reassigned and reflagged as Battery D, 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. The unit then deployed to Turkey from July to September 1999 in support of Operation Northern Watch. On 21 October 1999 Battery D conducted the battalion’s first Patriot live fire on the island of Crete, Greece. In February 2001 two batteries were sent to Israel to participate in Juniper Cobra. From November 2001 to May 2002 the unit deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Southern Watch. From August 2002 to June 2003 Battery C deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and on 25 and 27 March 2003 shot down Iraqi Scud missiles, successfully defending Camp Doha and the headquarters of the Combined Forces Land Component Commander.
With the signing of the Base Realignment and Closure Act, the unit was relocated to Fort Sill, Oklahoma on 28 June 2006. Battery D cased its colors from 17 October 2006 until 19 December 2007 due to a manning shortage. Battery E was also inactivated during this time. Beginning in 2007, Patriot battalions began to make one-year rotations to Korea to relieve 1st Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment who had been in Korea since October 1994. On 22 May 2009 the 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment conducted a relief in-place and transfer of authority with the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Suwon Air Base, Korea and acquired Battery E (Avenger). It was decided that this would be a permanent change of station and the unit would fall under 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade. Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Battery A, and Battery B were located on Suwon Air Base; Battery C and Battery D were located on Osan Air Base. The unit subsequently received the Army Superior Unit Award for the periods of 2015-2017, 2016-2018, and 2020 in support of the continued defense of Korea. On 29 September 2017 Battery C was moved to Camp Humphreys. On 07 December 2017 SGT Eric Schenk was killed in a vehicle accident when his HMMWV ambulance was rear-ended by a civilian vehicle and then hit by a cargo truck. On 06 November 2019 Soldiers from Battery A provided medical aide when a M2 Bradley rolled over on Camp Humphreys. In August 2021 Battery A was also relocated to Camp Humphreys. On 11 September 2023 the battalion headquarters was relocated to Camp Humphreys.

## Campaign Participation Credit

* World War I
** Champagne-Marne
** St. Mihiel
** Meuse-Argonne
** Champagne 1918
** Lorraine 1918
* World War II
** Central Europe
** Central Pacific
** New Guinea (with arrowhead)
** Luzon
** Southern Philippines (with arrowhead)
* Korean War
** UN Defensive
** UN Offensive
** CCF Intervention
** First UN Counteroffensive
** CCF Spring Offensive
** UN Summer-Fall Offensive
** Second Korean Winter
** Korea Summer 1953
* Global War on Terrorism

## Decorations

* Presidential Unit Citation (Defense of Korea)
* Army Superior Unit Award (Saudi Arabia 1995-1996)
* Army Superior Unit Award (Korea 2015-1017)
* Army Superior Unit Award (Korea 2016-2018)
* Army Superior Unit Award (Korea 2020)
* Philippines Presidential Unit Award (17 October 1944 to 4 July 1945)
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Award (Pyongtaek)
* Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Award (Korea 1952-1953)