On 9 January 1945, two Corps of the Sixth United States Army landed on the shores of Lingayen Gulf, just a few miles south of where the Japanese had invaded the island on 22 December 1941. From the landing beaches, the Corps drove south to the Manila area while maintaining a strong defensive line to the North. In this liberated beachhead, two major airfields plus smaller liaison landing strips were hastily constructed. With the landings on Luzon, the members of the three 3d Commando Group's Liaison Squadrons gathered their equipment and supplies and loaded onto LST 919 for the trip to the Lingayen beachhead. Upon arrival, the units moved by truck convoy on 1 February to a rough airstrip near Calaiso, where some landing strips, carved out by the men of the 168th Field Artillery Regiment, were being used by an L-5 Stinson for artillery spotting.