913th Air Refueling Squadron The 13th Troop Carrier Squadron was an inactive unit of the United States Army Air Forces . During World War II the squadron served in the South West Pacific Theater of World War II , earning two Distinguished Unit Citation s , a Navy Unit Commendation and a Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation for its wartime actions . Its last assignment was with the 403d Troop Carrier Group at Nichols Field , Luzon , Philippines , where it was inactivated on 15 October 1946 . The 913th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit . It was last assigned to the 2d Bombardment Wing , stationed at Barksdale AFB , Louisiana . The squadron responded to the Cuban Missile Crisis and provided aircraft and aircrew s to support the Viet Nam War , It was inactivated on 1 November 1981 and replaced by a squadron flying KC - 10 s . The two squadrons were consolidated in September 1985 but the consolidated squadron has not been active since . History . World War II . The 13th Transport Squadron was activated in late 1940 as one of the three original squadrons of the 61st Transport Group . Personnel for the squadron were drawn from the 5th Transport Squadron , located at Patterson Field , Ohio . The headquarters and squadrons of the 61st were initially scattered at various depot bases , with the 13th at Patterson Field , site of the Fairfield Air Depot . The 61st was finally united with its component squadrons at Pope Field , North Carolina in May 1942 . Shortly after this the group and squadrons were renamed Troop Carrier organizations . The squadron trained with the group in the southeast , using Douglas C - 47 Skytrain and Douglas C - 53 Skytrooper aircraft , but in the fall of 1942 the 13th deployed by itself to the Pacific . Upon arrival in the theater , the squadron , operating from bases in New Caledonia , began to transport vital ammunition and supplies to Guadalcanal and to evaucate wounded personnel on return trips . For this action the squadron earned its first Distinguished Unit Citation . In August 1943 the squadron was assigned to the 403d Troop Carrier Group and then moved to Espiritu Santo . It supported the New Guinea and Philippines campaigns by transporting men and cargo to combat areas . The 13th evacuated casualties , and dropped or airlanded supplies to guerilla forces in the Philippines . On 23 February 1945 the squadron dropped paratrooper s into Laguna de Bay , Luzon to free civilians held prisoner by the Japanese . The unit moved to the Philippines in 1945 and remained after the Japanese surrender as part of Far East Air Forces . It flew occupation troops to Japan , evacuated prisoners of war and flew cargo and personnel between Australia and Japan . In early 1946 the squadron began to transition into Douglas C - 54 Skymaster s . In October 1946 the 403d Troop Carrier Group was replaced by the 374th Troop Carrier Group . As a result the 13th was inactivated and its mission , personnel and equipment were transferred to the 22d Troop Carrier Squadron . Cold War . The 913th Air Refueling Squadron was activated in June 1958 by Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) at Barksdale Air Force Base , Louisiana . The squadron was equipped with Boeing KC - 135 Stratotanker s and assigned to the 4238th Strategic Wing as part of SAC ' s plan to disperse its Boeing B - 52 Stratofortress units to make it more difficult for the Soviet Union to destroy the entire fleet with a first strike . The squadron mission was to provide air refueling to the B - 52s of its parent wing and other USAF units as directed . Half of the squadron ' s aircraft were maintained on fifteen minute alert , fully fueled and ready for launch . The squadron trained for this mission until inactivation except for periods when its aircraft and crews were deployed with other SAC organizations conducting combat operations . From October through November 1962 the squadron ' s training was interrupted as it assumed an increased alert posture during the Cuban Missile Crisis . After tensions eased , the unit resumed normal operations . The 913th transferred to the 2d Bombardment Wing in 1963 when SAC replaced its parent wing with an organization that had a more distinguished history and could continue its lineage . The 913th began supporting SAC operations in Southeast Asia in 1965 , and increased its support of these operations over the following two years . From May to November 1972 all but four of the squadron ' s KC - 135s and a handful of crews were on loan to other SAC units . Following the return of its assets , the squadron continued to support operations in Southeast Asia until 1975 . The squadron resumed its training and alert mission until it was inactivated in 1981 and replaced by the 32d Air Refueling Squadron when the 22d Bombardment Wing began to operate McDonnell Douglas KC - 10 Extender s . The 13th Troop Carrier Squadron was consolidated with the 913th Air Refueling Squadron in September 1985 but the consolidated squadron has not been active since . Lineage . 13th Troop Carrier Squadron 913th Air Refueling Squadron