The 38th BG supported the Allied landings on Morotai on the mornings of 15 and 16 September 1944 by conducting low level missions to spray DDT as an anti-malarial measure on the vegetation-overgrown Pitoe Airfield, located just behind Red Beach. 19 of 21 planned sorties were completed, spraying 3,000 gallons of the pesticide-oil mixture, followed by 2,400 more gallons on 29 September. On 15 October the group moved into Pitoe's new dual-strip airfield to support the Allied invasion of Leyte by bombing airfields, ground installations, harbors, and shipping in the southern Philippines. When the Japanese fleet threatened the beachhead on 24 October during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the 38th BG was alerted for possible missions, but the fleet did not come within range of the B-25's on Morotai.