[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 62 (Monday, April 27, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E987-E988]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IN HONOR OF 307TH BOMB GROUP/WING MacDILL/KADENA ERA (1946-1954)

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 27, 2009

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the 307th Bomb Group/
Wing (1946-1954), which is holding its 14th reunion this week in Tampa, 
Florida.
  The 307th Bombardment Group rose from the reorganization of the U.S. 
Army Air Forces after World War II and the deactivation on August 6, 
1946, of the 498th Bombardment Group.
  As the initial SAC Bomb Group, the 307th was first tasked with 
developing tactics, operating procedures and training requirements to 
engage in anti-submarine and sea search operations. The high priority 
given their task also gave them priority in recruiting personnel, 
training and equipment. As a result, while the 307th was assigned 13 B-
29 aircraft when it was instituted, it had 30 B-29s a month later.
  The 307th was busy for the next few years but it was the outbreak of 
the Korean War that tested its mettle. In the summer of 1950, the 307th 
with 31 B-29s deployed from Florida's MacDill Air Force Base to Kadena 
Air Base in Okinawa and on August 8 began bombing runs on North Korea.

[[Page E988]]

  The B-29s bombed the enemy's transportation system and industrial 
facilities throughout North Korea. Following a November campaign 
against the bridges over the Yalu River into Manchuria, the B-29s 
bombed interdiction targets, communication and supply centers, and 
supported United Nations ground forces by hitting gun emplacements and 
troop concentrations.
  For the next few months the wing's bombers participated in FEAF's 
bridge-busting campaign, flying numerous missions against key bridge 
spans, and helped U.N. ground forces blunt a communist spring 
offensive. On May 23rd, the 307th provided nighttime close-in support, 
shredding enemy positions along the entire battlefront with Loran Radar 
guided and aimed fragmentation bombs.
  The 307th was integral in the war effort until the truce was signed 
in July 1953. As the truce talks were concluding, the 307th helped 
disrupt and spoil an enemy ground offensive, earning it a Distinguished 
Unit Citation. At the end of the hostilities, the 307th had flown more 
than 5,800 combat missions.
  In 1954, the wing returned to the United States and was assigned to 
Lincoln Air Force Base in Nebraska. The B-29s were retired and the unit 
became a B-47 wing, ending an era.
  Madam Speaker, most of the surviving veterans of the 307th Bomb 
Group/Wing who flew over Korea are in their 80s--including my friend Cy 
Johnson of Camarillo--and every reunion brings fewer of them together. 
I believe my colleagues will agree, however, that it's important to 
remember the 307th's role in bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula and 
fighting back the initial push of communist aggression. I therefore ask 
my colleagues to join with them and with me in commemorating their 
earned and rightful place in our American history.

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