The 29th Bomb Group

    After training 22 bomb groups, the 29th Bomb Group, Heavy (H) was relieved of their assignment as a B-24 replacement training unit at Gowen Army Airfield, Boise, Idaho, on 1 April, 1944. The group was re-designated as Very Heavy (VH) and reassigned to Pratt Army Airfield, Pratt, Kansas, for training as a B-29 combat unit. Intensive air and ground crew training was conducted for their new long-range mission. Training was held at airfields in Cuba and Puerto Rico during the cold winter of November and December, 1944.

    The group moved to North Field, Guam, in January, 1945 and began work on their encampment area. They were assigned to the 314th Bomb Wing. The group’s aircraft were identified with a large 96-inch black square on the tail fin with the letter O in the center. The group flew its first mission against Japan with an attack on Tokyo on 25 February, 1945. It conducted a number of missions against strategic targets in Japan, operating in daylight and at high altitudes to bomb factories, refineries, and other objectives. Beginning in March, 1945, the group carried out incendiary raids on area targets, flying at night and at low altitude. The group supported the allied invasion by attacking airfields that served as bases for kamikaze pilots.

    Staff Sergeant Henry E. Erwin was awarded the medal of honor for action that saved his B-29 during a mission over Koriyama, Japan, on 12 April, 1945. A phosphorus flare prematurely exploded in the launching chute, shot back into his plane and seriously wounded him. As smoke filled the plane, he picked up the burning device and carried it through the aircraft to the cockpit where he tossed it out a window. Although he suffered severe burns, he successfully saved his plane by disposing the flare.

    The group flew 76 combat missions, which included strategic bombing sorties and wide scale incendiary attacks.

    The group received their first distinguished unit citation for an attack on an airfield at Omura, Japan, on 31 March, 1945. They received their second citation for strikes on the industrial area of Shizuoka, the Mitsubishi aircraft plant at Tamashima, and the Chigura factory arsenal at Nagoya, in June, 1945.

    After the war ended, the group dropped food, clothing, and medical supplies to allied prisoners on mercy missions and participated in the ‘Show of Force” mission over Tokyo Bay during the Japanese surrender on the U.S.S. battleship Missouri.

    The 29th Bomb Group was deactivated on Guam on 20 May, 1946

Commanders: Col. Carl Storrie – 28 May 1944; Col. Robert Mason – 23 Jul 1945