61st Airlift Squadron The 61st Airlift squadron is part of the 19th Operations Group and operates C - 130 Hercules aircraft from Little Rock Air Force Base , Arkansas . The unit predominantly deploys in support of and Operation Enduring Freedom . History . World War II . Activated in late 1942 under I Troop Carrier Command and equipped with C - 47 Skytrain s . Trained in various parts of the eastern United States until the end of 1943 . Deployed to French Morocco in May 1943 and assigned to Twelfth Air Force to support combat operations in the North African Campaign . Remained with Twelfth Air Force , moving to Tunisia and Sicily providing transport and resupply operations as well as casualty evacuation of wounded personnel in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations ( MTO ) . Reassigned to IX Troop Carrier Command , Ninth Air Force in England during early 1944 as part of the build - up of Allied forces prior to the D - Day invasion of France . Began operations by dropping paratroop s into Normandy on D - Day ( 6 June 1944 ) and releasing gliders with reinforcements on the following day . The unit received a Distinguished Unit Citation and a French citation for these missions . After the Normandy invasion the squadron ferried supplies in the United Kingdom . The squadron also hauled food , clothing , medicine , gasoline , ordnance equipment , and other supplies to the front lines and evacuated patients to rear zone hospitals . It dropped paratroops near Nijmegen and towed gliders carrying reinforcements during the airborne attack on Holland . In December , it participated in the Battle of the Bulge by releasing gliders with supplies for the 101st Airborne Division near Bastogne . Moved to Belgium in early 1945 , and participated in the Western Allied invasion of Germany , participating in the air assault across the Rhine River in March 1945 , each aircraft towed two gliders with troops of the 17th Airborne Division and released them near Wesel . After V - E Day , became part of the United States Air Forces in Europe , being assigned to AAF Station Frankfurt and was part of the USAFE European Air Transport System ( EATS ) , supporting the occupation forces in Germany as well as carrying supplies and personnel between various stations in Western Europe . Inactivated on 30 September 1946 in Germany . Cold War . During the Korean War ( 1950 - 1953 ) furnished airlift between Japan and rough airfields in Korea and airdropped paratroops and supplies at Sukchon / Sunchon and Munsan - ni during combat operations . Remained in Japan until 1954 , then became a Tactical Air Command Troop Carrier squadron , assigned to Smyrna AFB , Tennessee under Eighteenth Air Force . Supported Air Force and Army units in the United States with tactical airlift and troop carrier operations , including support for army airbone untis at Fort Bragg , North Carolina ( 82d Airborne ) and Fort Campbell , Kentucky ( 101st Airborne ) as required . The 61st also had the first C130D , the " ski model " and flew in support of the Distant Early Warning ( DEW ) sites in Greenland during the late 50 ' s and early 60 ' s . During the Vietnam War , the squadron transported supplies from the Philippines into Southeast Asia , Dec 1965 - Jun 1966 . Part of squadron deployed to South Vietnam in the summer of 1972 to test the Adverse Weather Aerial Delivery System ( AWADS ) in combat for the first time . In 1972 , operated from Taiwan and provided flood relief in the Philippines . After the end of the Vietnam War , engaged in routine theater airlift operations , both in the United States and in Europe , deploying frequently to RAF Mildenhall , England and Rhein - Main Air Base , West Germany to support USAFE and USAREUR Army units and combat exercises . Airdropped humanitarian relief supplies to Kurdish civilians in northern Iraq , Apr - May 1991 in the immediate aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War . Modern era . Conducted airdrop and aeromedical evacuation ; supported combatant commanders with theater delivery of personnel and supplies , 2000 – present