After training on the Gulf Coast, the squadron moved to the Southwest Pacific Theater in the fall of 1944, and served in combat until the surrender of Japan, earning a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.

When the United States withdrew from Vietnam, the group moved its headquarters to Thailand and, after participating in the evacuations of Phnom Penh and Saigon, was inactivated there in 1976.

[9] A number of the squadron's cadre had already received training from the United States Navy with the Catalina at Naval Air Station Pensacola.

For example, in the last month of the war, August 1945, squadron flights or detachments were located at Mindoro, Floridablanca Airfield and Laoag on Luzon, and on Ie Shima near Okinawa.

It was not until the summer of 1946 that regular Army Air Forces officers and soldiers were assigned in sufficient strength for the squadron to resume operations.

[11] Experience in the China Burma India Theater had demonstrated the need for land rescue capabilities using helicopters and light planes.

[1][12] Following the North Korean invasion of South Korea on 25 June 1950, the squadron deployed two L-5 Sentinels and one Douglas SC-47 Skytrain to Pusan West Air Base to perform search and rescue missions.

"[14] Combat operations in Korea, and the changing tactical situation there, soon added the missions of rescuing aircrew downed behind enemy lines, and evacuating wounded personnel with the squadron's helicopters.

The squadron's H-5 helicopters could operate from Korea's many rice paddies, sometimes escorted by the unit's L-5 Sentinels, which also flew aeromedical evacuation missions from small unprepared fields.

[17] The squadron's Boeing SB-17 Dumbos and SC-47 Skytrains were used in the search role, with the C-47 "Gooneybirds" being commandeered on occasion to fly critical supply missions.

[11] When the war began, Air Rescue Service's newest plane, the Grumman SA-16 Albatross amphibian, was not on the strength of any unit in the Pacific.

[11] Dr. Elmer Henderson, a former chairman of the American Medical Association, credited the drop in the mortality rate for wounded soldiers to half that experienced during World War II to their quick evacuation by rescue helicopters.

[21] Squadron elements operated out of Paengnyong-do and Cho-do islands off the coast of North Korea, enabling its limited range helicopters to rescue aircrew far behind enemy lines.

During November 1950, squadron SB-17s dropped a number of agents near the Chinese border, along with radio equipment, to provide intelligence data on enemy components.

The HH-43 could not hover at higher altitudes, and the HH-3 needed to stage from forward bases in Laos to provide rescue coverage for North Vietnam.

In addition to extending the range of the group's refuelable helicopters, air refueling permitted them to dump fuel when needed to lighten the aircraft, and to enable it to hover for rescues at high altitudes, knowing that it would be able to connect with a tanker after the rescue attempt and on-load sufficient fuel to return to its home base.

Combined with the Jolly Green Giant's ability to land on water, this permitted the withdrawal of the HU-16 amphibians, which flew their last combat rescue sortie on 30 September 1967.

[33] In the fall of 1967, the group received its first Sikorsky HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant, which were stationed at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base.

By July 1971 reductions in local base rescue reached the point where the 38th Squadron was inactivated and the few remaining detachments were transferred directly to the group.

A group helicopter flew a United States Marine Corps command element into Phnom Penh to assume control of the evacuation.

[40] As conditions in Southeast Asia continued to deteriorate, Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon, was implemented at the end of the month.

On 15 May, group HH-53s again joined CH-53s of other units in transporting a Marine assault force from U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield to the island where the Mayaguez had been run aground.

Evacuation efforts continued under heavy enemy fire throughout the afternoon and evening in the Air Force's last combat operation in Southeast Asia.

As the United States continued its withdrawal from Southeast Asia, the Rescue Coordination Center was shut down on 15 December 1975, and the group and the 40th Squadron were inactivated at the end of January 1976.

Assisted by covering flights of Mustangs to suppress enemy flak, Lt Najarian was able to make the difficult night landing, pick up the pilot and take off successfully.

[46] Airman First Class William H. Pitsenbarger of the group's 38th Squadron was the first enlisted man to be awarded the Air Force Cross.

Flying as a parajumper, or PJ, on an HH-43 sent to extract an Army unit caught in a Viet Cong ambush on 7 March 1966, he descended to assist with hoisting soldiers up to the helicopter.

[47] On 8 December 2000, following a review, Airman Pitsenbarger's Air Force Cross was upgraded to an award of the Medal of Honor, and he was posthumously promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant.

[48] Airman First Class Duane D. Hackney, a PJ with the 37th Squadron, was awarded the Air Force Cross for actions on 13 March 1967 in a rescue operation for two Marine helicopters, a Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave that had been shot down, and a Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight that had crashed while attempting to aid the first Marine chopper, when it reported that enemy forces were closing in on the crash site.

Airman Hackney continued to tend to the wounded on board, even after being rendered temporarily unconscious from a bullet that had struck his helmet.