The history of Air Defense Artillery (ADA) starts back as far as the revolutionary war, despite not having aircrafts to protect troops from. The Coast Artillery Corps was ADA’s predecessor, and was created to protect our coasts from moving ships. As technology improved, so did warfare. The Coast Artillery Corps was integrated into the Antiaircraft Artillery (AAA) to combat from aerial attacks, such as those from German zeppelins. Coastal artillery was chosen because of their experience with firing upon moving targets, and they demonstrated their usefulness at the beginning of World War II Air Defense Artillery’s motto originated on December 7, 1941. When hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the Pearl Harbor naval base, AAA took up arms and were the first Army units to engage the enemy. “First to Fire” was created and stuck. Further into World War II, AAA units everywhere managed to shoot down many hostile enemy planes and earn a dozen Distinguished Service Crosses, Silver Stars, and Presidential Unit Citations. …show more content…
They made evident their usefulness on the battlefield not only here, but also when being used to break stalemates in battle such as “Heartbreak Ridge” and “Porkchop Hill.” As AAA units continued to fight, they only proved more and more how essential they were as technology progressed. In Vietnam, ADA had virtually air superiority, but made a name for themselves regardless. ADA soldiers earned some 450 medals for valor and more than 1000 purple hearts. The Army saw just how important air defense was and it became its own branch, and thus Air Defense Artillery was born. Our mission stands as such: “Protect the force and selected geopolitical assets from aerial attack, missile attacks, and