On 10 March 1941 a portion of the battalion, designated Detachment A, arrived at Palmyra Island, where they immediately began construction of barracks and gun emplacements.

The Marine detachment, 1st Defense Battalion, Wake Island, was organized on 8 August 1941 at Honolulu, Hawaii, on board the SS Regulus.

Following news of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the civilian contractors already present on Johnston began to building more emplacements for the Marines' guns and positions.

A Japanese submarine, 8,000 yards offshore, broke the surface and fired star shells clusters over Johnston.

On 19 August, the first permanent military garrison, understrength elements of the 1st Marine Defense Battalion,[5] totaling 450 officers and men,[6] were stationed on the island, under Major James P.S.

Early on the morning of 11 December, the garrison, with the support of the four remaining Wildcats, repelled the first Japanese landing attempt by the South Seas Force, which included the light cruisers Yubari, Tenryū, and Tatsuta; the destroyers Yayoi, Mutsuki, Kisaragi, Mochizuki, Hayate, and Oite; Patrol Boat No.

Major Devereux ordered the gunners to hold their fire until the enemy moved within range of the coastal defenses.

The four Wildcats also succeeded in sinking the destroyer Kisaragi by dropping a bomb on her stern where the depth charges were stored.

On 12 January 1953 the battalion was reactivated this time as the 1st 75mm Antiaircraft Artillery Battery at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

[8] For the remainder of the 1950s 1st 75mm AA Battery acted as the host unit for thousands of Marine Reservists training at the base during the summer.

On 21 April 1960 Captain Milton Kramer fired the last 75mm M51 Skysweeper rounds in the Marine Corps while serving with the 1st 75mm AA Battalion at Twentynine Palms.

The Skysweeper was officially retired from Marine Corps service as the 500-man battalion prepared to transition to the HAWK Missile System.

[9] On 2 May 1960, at a twilight parade at Marine Corps Base 29 Palms, CA the 1st Light Antiaircraft Missile Battalion was officially activated by the Brigadier General Alpha L. Bowser.

This was SgtMaj Winslow's second stint with the unit as he had been a member of the 1st Defense Battalion at Wake Island at the beginning of World War II.

Events quickly escalated and three days later the 600-man battalion was tasked to move out heading for an undisclosed location in the Western Pacific.

On 19 July, after four and a half years in country, 1st LAAM ceased all air defense activities in Vietnam and began to prepare for embarkation.

1st LAAM Battalion was deactivated on 30 November 1970 as part of a post-Vietnam War cutback in the Marine Corps' end strength.

The battalion was reactivated as part of a Marine Corps initiative titled the "Air Defense Enhancement Program" which sought to provide an Improved HAWK Missile capability in support of the III Marine Amphibious Force in the Pacific Area of Operations.

The two firing batteries, Alpha and Bravo, were provided by Marines from 2d and 3d LAAM Battalions as part of the Unit Deployment Program.

During this time the battalion was the only active duty unit providing medium range air defense in the Marine Corps.

1st LAAM Battalion was decommissioned on 11 July 1997 as the Marine Corps began to divest itself of its medium range air defense capability.

Following the decommissioning, a battery of HAWK missiles was maintained at MCAS Yuma under the command of Marine Air Control Squadron 1 (MACS-1).

The 12th Littoral Anti-Air Battalion was reactivated on October 1, 2024, and held its activation ceremony on December 5, 2024, at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan.