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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.
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.
An advance echelon of Company B departed Del Carmen Field for Orani, Bataan, on 20 December 1941, and the rear guard evacuated the field on 25 or 26 December. The 24th left shortly thereafter. [ 3 ] After its occupation, it was used by Japanese aircraft as a satellite field for the Clark area.
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.
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 air echelon of squadron retreated to Australia, reforming at Batchelor Airfield near Darwin, Northern Territory. [ 9 ] Squadron deployed aircraft from Australia to Java in January 1942 to support Allied forces during the Dutch East Indies Campaign , carrying out bombing missions against the advancing Japanese forces.
Iba Airfield is a former United States Army Air Forces airfield on Luzon in the Philippines. It was overrun by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Battle of the Philippines (1942) , it was struck in an air raid at same time as the attack on Clark Field on 8 December 1941.
At an altitude of 20,000 feet, this was the highest fatal World War II training accident in Nebraska. One bomber crashed in the adjoining farm fields of Frank Hromadka Sr. and Anna Matejka, 2 miles N and ½ mile E of Milligan, Nebraska. The other crashed in the farmyard of Mike and Fred Stech, 3 miles N and 2 miles E of Milligan.