Activated 1 October 1919 at Headquarters, Park Field, Tenn. 9th Bombardment Squadron, which became a unit of the 7th Bomb Wing in April 1931, participated in three major battles during World War I - - Lorraine, St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. These battles are represented by three Maltese Crosses superimposed across the shield of the present wing insignia.
One of the wing's major peacetime accomplishments was the personnel and aircraft support given during the development of, and the first "air refueling" operations, in 1929.
On 7 December 1941, 35 B-17's of the 7th arrived Hickam Field, Hawaii during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Since this first day of World War II, the 7th struck back at the Japanese, destroying important targets from the Philippines to Java. During 1944, the 7th was the first to carry out B-24 low level radio controlled (Azon) bombing.
The 7th remained in the Pacific Far East Theater until 6 January 1946 when it returned to the United States. It was assigned to SAC in October 1946. Carswell AFB has been its home station since that time. The 7th was the first SAC unit to be equipped with the B-36, which for nine years contributed heavily to maintaining world peace. The 7th converted to B-52's in 1957.
The wing's battle history is rated among the distinguished
few, with one of the first Presidential Unit Citations awarded during World War II, given to the 7th for their heroic defense of Java in 1942. The 7th Bombardment Wing wartime honors include:
PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION - Philippines, Netherland Indies and Java from 14 Jan - 1 March 1942.
DISTINGUISHED UNIT CITATION - Burma - 19 March 1945.
BATTLE HONORS - China Defensive, Burma, Central Burma, China Offensive and India Burma.
Since activation in 1919, the wing has utilized DH 5, LWF, LB 7, LB 30, B-17, B-18, B-24, B-25, B-29, B-36, KC-135 and B-52 aircraft in both peacetime and wartime operations.
This monument presented to the 7th Bombardment Wing by Amon G. Carter Foundation in the year 1962.
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