977th Field Artillery Battalion
On 1 March 1943, the 2d Battalion, 35th Field Artillery Regiment, was redesignated as the 977th Field Artillery Battalion at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. The unit was equipped with the new, long-barreled 155mm guns nicknamed, “Long Toms.” The 977th finished its training, and in a series of tests conducted by General Headquarters, scored the highest of any artillery battalion in the U.S.