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With the surrender of the United States Army on Bataan, Philippines on 8 April 1942, the remaining air echelon of the 24th Pursuit Group withdrew to Mindanao Island and began operating from Del Monte Airfield with whatever aircraft were remaining. The last of the group's aircraft were captured or destroyed by enemy forces on or about 1 May 1942.
The air echelon of the squadron was evacuated to Batchelor Field, Australia on 24 December 1941, while the ground echelon stayed to fight at Clark Field, as infantry in the Philippines as part of the Battle of the Philippines under the command of 5th Interceptor Command.
When the United States entered World War II the squadron was deploying to the Philippines. Its ground echelon fought as infantry , with most members surrendering at Bataan , while the air echelon fought in the Netherlands East Indies, earning the squadron three Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC)s.
The meeting of the air and ground echelons was a never-to-be-forgotten moment. The ground echelon was informed that although an area had been assigned, no camp had been established. The air echelon had slept in the planes, eating cold C-rations or eating occasionally at Camp Arcadia whose small kitchen appeared to be the only one on the island ...
Re-equipped with Douglas A-24 Dauntless dive bombers, then in late 1941, ordered to Philippine Air Force in response to the growing crisis in the Pacific. Ground echelon arrived in Philippines in late November 1941, however outbreak of World War II in the Pacific caused A-24 aircraft to be diverted to Australia.
The air echelon of the 318th Troop Carrier Squadron flew their C-47s across the Pacific, arriving at Nadzab, New Guinea, in late October 1944. The squadron carried cargo and passengers and air-evacuated wounded soldiers to Australia until it moved to Leyte in mid-January 1945. While on Luzon, this squadron also para-dropped supplies to ground ...
Group Echelon (Philippines Campaign: 27 Jan 45–22 Feb 45) Flight Echelon (Philippines Campaign: 31 Jan 45–22 Feb 45) Advance Echelon (Philippines Campaign: 10 Mar 45–4 Jul 45) Rear Echelon (Philippines Campaign: 17 Mar 45–4 Jul 45) CO, MAG-32; Col Clayton C. Jerome (until July 1945) Col Stanley E. Ridderhof. ExO, MAG-32; LCol John L. Smith
The air echelon squadrons of the 7th were en route to the Philippines and arrived in Pearl Harbor on the morning of 7 December 1941. They consisted of 9th, 463rd, 492nd, and 493d Heavy Bombardment Squadrons. The air echelon was diverted back to the US and then routed to Java through Australia.