67th Pursuit Squadron, nicknamed the “Fighting Cocks,” stationed at Harding Army Airfield in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was equipped with just a few obsolete Seversky P-35 fighters.

The Airacobra was very well suited to this role as exhibited during the Japanese assault of September 14, after which, General Vandegrift remarked, “You won’t read about this in the newspapers, but you and your flight of P-400s just saved Guadalcanal.

Moved to the Philippines in November, flew fighter sweeps against enemy airfields, supported U.S. ground forces, and protected sea convoys and transport routes.

At Taego, the squadron exchanged its Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star jets for propeller-driven North American F-51D Mustangs which were more suited to the ground attack and support role.

Combat targets included tanks and armored vehicles, locomotives, artillery and antiaircraft guns, fuel and ammunition dumps, warehouses and factories, and troop concentrations.

In January 1953 the squadron rejoined the wing at Osan-ni Air Base where it transitioned to the North American F-86 Sabre without halting the fight against the enemy.

It moved to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa in November 1954, performing tactical fighter operations in South Korea, Japan, Formosa (later Taiwan), and the Philippines with frequent deployments.

As a result of the increased level of combat in Southeast Asia, the squadron was deployed to Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, where it carried out tactical bombardment missions over North and South Vietnam in 1965, returning to Kadena at the end of October.

Equipment was changed to the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, with a mission to rotate squadrons to South Korea, providing air defense of the nation.

[2] Air Combat Command officials announced a stand down and reallocation of flying hours for the rest of the fiscal year 2013 due to mandatory budget cuts.