MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Members of the 6th Bomb Group (BG) Association visited MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, Sept. 23, 2016 for a base tour. The visit was a part of the group’s 30th annual reunion which started in Treasure Island, Florida.
The 6th BG, while not active today, lives on as the parent organization of the 6th Operations Group (OG) which operates with the 91st Air Refueling Squadron, the 310th Airlift Squadron and the 911th Air Refueling Squadron under the 6th Air Mobility Wing (AMW).
First activated on April 1, 1944, the 6th BG moved to North Field on Tinian Island in the Marianas Islands. From there, the 6th BG flew the B-29 Superfortress, conducting bombing raids over Japan.
“With the ‘Pirate’s Head’ on the nose and the Circle ‘R’ symbol on the tail, the 6th BG aircraft became some of the most recognized and feared in all of the Pacific War,” said David Wilson, co-historian of the 6th BG Association.
One mission flown by the 6th BG was the longest non-stop bombing mission of WWII. Crewmembers of the B-29 “Flak Alley Sally” flew continuously for 19 hours and 40 minutes, covering 4,400 miles.
Towards the end of WWII, the famous B-29 “Enola Gay” parked alongside the 6th BG at Tinian Island. Later, on August 6, 1945 the “Enola Gay” conducted the first-ever atomic bomb mission at Hiroshima, Japan.
“Since [the Enola Gay] was parked with aircraft of the 6th BG at Tinian Island, the Circle ‘R’ symbol was painted on her tail while she flew the atomic mission to Hiroshima,” said Wilson. “Today, the Enola Gay still wears the symbol on display in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum at Dulles International Airport.”
Although the successor of the 6th BG, the 6th OG, focuses on air refueling, the memory of the 6th BG lives on at MacDill. A flag of the 6th BG remains on display in the 6th AMW Headquarters.
“The veterans were happy to see the flag again,” said Wilson. “Some of them haven’t seen the flag in close to 70 years.”
To conclude the visit, family and friends with the 6th BG Association discussed their history and viewed presentations about where the 6th BG came from to how the 6th BG has transitioned to the 6th OG. The veterans also shared stories of their experiences during WWII.
Col. April Vogel, commander of the 6th AMW gave remarks to the veterans and presented certificates of appreciation to them as well.
“We’re truly on the shoulders of giants,” said Vogel. “It’s our honor to be able to build from what they have started and continue their legacy today.”