page_title: 602nd Special Operations Squadron
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: 602nd Special Operations Squadron / History
caption_attribution_description: U.S. Air Force 56th Special Operations Wing Douglas A-1E and A-1H/J Skyraiders at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base prepare for missions over Laos, ca. 1968-69.
context_page_description: The 602nd Special Operations Squadron was a United States Air Force squadron that operated in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.
context_section_description: The 602nd Fighter Squadron (Commando) was activated in May 1964 for the Vietnam War, and along with the 1st Air Commando Squadron, was a part of the 34th Tactical Group.  The squadron became operational at Bien Hoa Air Base on 15 October 1964. By 1966 the squadron had been renamed the 602nd Air Commando Squadron and moved, first to Nha Trang Air Base in South Vietnam, and then to Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand.  In March 1968 it moved again to Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base.  On 1 August 1968 it was redesignated the 602nd Special Operations Squadron, and was inactivated on 31 December 1970 at Nakhon Phanom.  The original Squadron patch was drawn by Walt Disney in 1944.  The sky was blue with a wisp of cloud behind the left wing of the eagle.  No call sign was mounted above the patch.
  The squadron operated A-1 Skyraiders under the call sign "Firefly". Their daylight task was the primary one of combat search and rescue of air crew downed in the Kingdom of Laos. A secondary task was night operations as flareships supporting the Hmong guerrillas of General Vang Pao's Clandestine Army in the Operation Barrel Roll area. At times, the squadron flew single ship sorties; they would also sometimes mark their own targets for their air strikes.
caption: Douglas A-1 Skyraiders of the 1st and 602nd Special Operations Squadrons at Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base during the Vietnam War
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