The group also organizes, trains, and prepares a force of citizen airmen to defend and serve the people of Missouri.

The group assembled at Santa Maria Army Air Field, California in December, and departed for the European Theater of Operations in January 1944.

[2][4][5][6] It arrived at its combat station, RAF Honington, England in February 1944, where it became part of VIII Fighter Command.

[8] While the group flew dive bombing, strafing and patrol missions in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, it initially operated primarily as an escort for Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers.

While it continued flying bomber escort missions, it supported ground forces in France after the invasion by strafing and bombing locomotives, marshalling yards, bridges, barges and other targets.

[9] In the summer of 1944, and from then until the end of the war it flew many long-range missions with its Mustangs, escorting heavy bombers that attacked oil refineries, industries and other strategic objectives in Berlin, Regensburg, Merseburg, Stuttgart, Brussels and elsewhere.

[2][10] In addition to its escort duties, the group also flew air sea rescue missions and carried out patrols.

It received Douglas B-26 Invaders that returned from the Korean War and trained primarily in night bombardment missions.

In the post-Cold War era, the unit deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey in support of Operation Northern Watch in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

As a result, active duty and Air National Guard pilots and maintainers fly B-2 missions and sustain the aircraft as though they were one unit.

The ceremony celebrated the first official drill for traditional guardsmen at Whiteman and the grand opening of building 3006, the 131st Bomb Wing's first headquarters there.