673d Bombardment Squadron The 673d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit . Its last assignment was with the 417th Bombardment Group at Itami Airfield , Japan , where it was inactivated on 5 November 1945 . During World War II , the squadron operated in the Southwest Pacific Theater as a light bombardment unit during the New Guinea and Philippines campaigns . It was awarded both the Distinguished Unit Citation and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its combat service . History . Training in the United States . The 673d Bombardment Squadron was activated in the spring of 1943 at Will Rogers Field , Oklahoma as one of the original squadrons of the 417th Bombardment Group The squadron drew its initial cadre from the 46th and 416th Bombardment Group s . Once assigned , the 673d ' s key personnel travelled to Orlando Army Air Base in mid - April where they received combat training from the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics . The first Douglas A - 20 Havoc s arrived to equip the squadron in mid - May along with some DB - 7 export models of the Havoc . Initial training of the 673d was conducted by the 46th Bombardment Group , the Operational Training Unit at Will Rogers Field . The unit then moved to DeRidder Army Air Base , Louisiana for advanced training . From August to September the 673d operated with the II Tactical Air Division , giving low level support to ground units on maneuvers . Once training was completed The squadron departed the San Francisco Port of Embarkation by ship on New Year ' s Day 1944 . Combat in the Southwest Pacific . The squadron arrived in New Guinea in late January 1944 , where it became part of Fifth Air Force . It began combat in March , operating in support of ground forces on New Guinea and striking airfields , bridges , personnel concentrations , installations , and shipping in the area . The 673d participated with other Fifth Air Force units in attacks on shipping and enemy airstrips near Hollandia on 16 April that resulted in the destruction of 298 enemy planes . The unit operated from Noemfoor from September to December 1944 , attacking airfields and installations on Ceram , Halmahera , and western New Guinea . Noemfoor operations included attacks on oil installations . The squadron moved to the Philippines in December 1944 at the end of the New Guinea campaign . The unit ' s ground crew s left Noemfoor by ship while the aircrew flew to the Phillipines once the advance party had prepared McGuire Field for use in late December . While enroute , the convoy transporting the ground echelon endured two Japanese air attacks . The squadron received a Distinguished Unit Citation for attacking Japanese convoys at Lingayen between 30 December 1944 and 2 January 1945 , an action that not only impaired enemy shipping and supply strength , but also helped to clear the way for the American invasion of Luzon . During these attacks the 417th group sank 36 , 000 tons of shipping including a freighter , a destroyer escort and several transports . Until June 1945 the 673d supported ground forces and continued to attack enemy airfields , transportation , and installations on Luzon , Cebu , Negros , and Mindanao . The squadron flew its last missions in July , dropping propaganda leaflets to Japanese troops on Luzon . After the Philippines were secured , the group turned its attention to Japanese targets on Formosa in early 1945 . It moved to Okinawa in August 1945 and to Itami Air Base , Japan in November , where it was inactivated on 15 November 1945 .