Little - Keep Trees

Unit History
In 79 years of active service under the emblem of the
winged sword, the 19th has flown, fought and won with
the motto: In Alis Vincimus — on wings we conquer!
The 19th Bombardment Group was stationed at Clark
Field near Manila, Philippines, when the Japanese
attacked on Dec. 8, 1941. The result was
devastating: Half of the Group’s B-17s were
destroyed on the ground, with 55 men killed.
Scraping together what aircraft were still available, the
group flew the first American bombing missions of the war
against Japanese shipping and invasion craft. But the
situation in the Philippines was dire, and the group’s air
echelon evacuated to Australia within days. Many
members of the ground echelon couldn’t be evacuated;
members of the 19th fought as infantry in the defense of
Bataan. Some were captured and took part in the Bataan
Death March, and others fought as guerillas.
The 19th Bombardment Group flew in the defense
of Java and New Guinea, and the battles of the Coral
Sea and Guadalcanal before rotating home to Texas in
late 1942. Even on the return journey, some of the
group’s crews carried bomb loads for enemy targets as
they passed.
In that single year of combat, members of the 19th
earned the Medal of Honor and more than 50
Distinguished Service Crosses. For its service, the Group
was awarded six Distinguished Unit Citations, the highest
award the United States can confer on a military unit. The
price was high: Two-thirds of the 19th were killed,
captured or wounded in the first year of the war.
On April 1, 1944, the 19th was relocated to Kansas
and equipped with new B-29 Superfortresses before
returning to the Pacific to bomb the Japanese home
islands. On Aug. 14, 1945, as the group flew home from
18 Base Units
Painting of Capt. Colin P. Kelly.
Capt. Kelly was considered the
first American hero of World War II.,
sacrificing his own life to give his
crew time to parachute to freedom.
Painting by Deane Keller.
(U.S. Air Force photo)
a bombing mission, President Harry S. Truman
announced the unconditional surrender of the Empire of
Japan. The 19th Bombardment Group, which had flown
the first American bombing missions of WWII, had flown
the last.
As part of a post-war reorganization in 1948, the Air
Force formed the 19th Bombardment Wing as the host
unit for Andersen Air Base, Guam. The 19th
Bombardment Group became its operational flying unit.
When communist forces attacked South Korea on
June 25, 1950, the 19th Bombardment Group was
immediately detached and sent to Okinawa, Japan. Over
the next two months alone, the group flew more than 600
combat sorties supporting United Nations ground forces.
Superfortress turret gunners also claimed aerial
victories against enemy fighters. In 1951, members of
the 19th Bombardment Group racked up 10 kills
against MiG fighters. This constituted 38 percent of all
confirmed B-29 turret gun kills in the Korean War.
Shortly before the war’s end, the 19th Bombardment
Wing was reunited with the Group. For the second time
in a row, the 19th had the distinction of being present at
the very beginning and at the very end of a war.
After Korea, the 19th was reassigned to Strategic Air
Command to fly B-47 Stratojets. The addition of air
refueling squadrons, with their KC-97s, extended the
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