Description
THE HOT LOOP — 383rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion
120 pages scanned. Instant PDF download.
Document Overview
Written by Oral Bullard and published in 1950 in Waterloo, Iowa, The Hot Loop is the official commemorative history of the 383rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion — nicknamed the “Skeeters” — covering its full service from activation in January 1943 through repatriation in December 1945. Narrated in first person through the voice of the battalion mascot “Skeeter,” the book follows the unit from its formation at Fort Bliss, Texas, through seven months of stateside training and maneuvers, to its Pacific deployment spanning Australia, New Guinea (Finschaffen and the Aitape amphibious landing), Morotai, and Mindanao in the Philippine Islands. The volume includes original illustrations by Ed Anderson, a full-color route map tracing the battalion’s arc across the Pacific, battery group photographs, a reprint of the LIFE magazine article “D Plus Four” by journalist Noel F. Busch covering the Aitape landing, and complete battery-by-battery personnel rosters. This listing is a digital download of a high-quality scanned copy of the original 1950 edition.
Campaigns: Townsville, Australia (Dec. 1943) • Finschaffen, New Guinea (Mar. 1944) • Aitape, New Guinea — Amphibious Landing (Apr. 1944) • Morotai (Sept. 1944) • Mindanao, Philippine Islands (May 1945)
Commanders: Lt. Col. James B. Carroll (Commanding, activation) • Maj. Robert J. Martin (Executive) • Col. Alfred W. Kahl (Commanding, overseas) • Capt. Chester A. Townsend (HQ Battery) • Capt. Robert F. Gibbs (Battery A) • Capt. Walter W. Housley (Battery B) • Capt. William A. Krause (Battery C) • 1st Lt. Elliott O. Stephensen (Battery D)
Unit paper: unknown
Table of Contents
Introduction
Skeeter’s Route Map — Pacific Theater
Unit Photographs — The Brass, Batteries HQ, A, B, C, D
We’ll Never Go Anywhere — Activation & Training at Fort Bliss
We’ll Never Go Overseas — Maneuvers, Embarkation
We’ll Never Get to Australia — Voyage to Sydney & Townsville
We’ll Never Get Out of New Guinea — Finschaffen & Aitape Landing
D Plus Four — LIFE Magazine Article by Noel F. Busch
We’ll Never Get to the Philippines — Morotai Operations
We’ll Never Go Home — Mindanao & Sayre Highway
Picture Section — Combat & Field Photography
Personnel Roster — Headquarters Battery
Personnel Roster — Battery A
Personnel Roster — Battery B
Personnel Roster — Battery C
Personnel Roster — Battery D
“To anyone who was, at any time, a member of the 383rd — and, more particularly, to those who did not return.”
— Dedication, The Hot Loop (1950)