GENERAL ORDERS)                                                                                HEADQUARTERS   
NO............2129)                                                                                  FAR EAST AIR FORCES
                                                                                                          APO 925-22 OCTOBER 1945
                                                           EXTRACT

                                                     UNIT CITATIONS

   By direction of the President, under the provisions of Executive Order No. 9396 (section I, Bulletin 22, WD, 1943), superceding Executive Order No. 9075, (Section III, Bulletin 2, WD, 1942), and of Section IV, Circular No. 233, WD, 1943, the following units are cited by the Commanding General, Far East Air Forces.

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                                          417th Bombardment Group (L)

  The 417th Bombardment Group (L) is cited for outstanding performance of duty in action in the Philippine Islands from 30 December 1944 to 2 January 1945.  At that time large concentration of enemy transport vessels, protected by a heavy naval escort, were discharging personnel and cargo at Lingayen, Luzon, which had been selected as the point at which American forces would shortly invade Luzon.  To enable our landing operations to proceed as planned, the 417th Bombardment Group (L), which had moved to Mindoro on 29 December, was selected to break up these concentrations. On 30 December, after a flight of 200 miles over water at an altitude of less than 60 feet to avoid radar detections, 14 A-20 aircraft of the group came upon a number of enemy vessels in Lingayen Gulf, and flying through intense and concentrated antiaircraft fire from the transports, escort vessels, and shore batteries, made strafing and bombing attacks at mast height. One destroyer escort was sunk and another was probably sunk, a destroyer was set afire, and one transport ship was sunk, and another left sinking. Two days later, on 1 January 1945, 35 aircraft of the group proceeded northward along the west coast of Bataan Peninsula toward Lingayen Gulf, contacted a large convoy of Japanese freighters south of Lingayen, and made a highly successful low-altitude attack. Again flying in the face of intense antiaircraft fire, they sank 14 enemy vessels, probably sinking 2 others and damaging an undetermined number of smaller craft. The following day, 35 planes of the 417th Bombardment Group (L), returned to the Lingayen area to strike at another force of heavily escorted transport and freighter vessels in San Fernando Bay. Although adverse weather conditions necessitated splitting the formation, the aircraft successfully rendezvoused near the target and made a west-to east attack on the enemy ships, which were anchored close together. Again battling their way through severe antiaircraft opposition, the group destroyed a seaplane tender, 3 transports, 8 large freighters, and several smaller craft; probably sank a destroyer escort and another freighter; and destroyed 2 float planes. Throughout this period, the ground personnel of the 417th Bombardment Group (L) worked under the most adverse conditions, since much of the equipment of the group had been lost when Japanese suicide planes had attacked the vessels which were  carrying the group to its new base. Subjected to day and night enemy air attacks, which destroyed 3 of the groups planes and damaged 29 others, the ground crews worked tirelessly to prepare the planes for these vital missions. In destroying 31 enemy vessels, totaling over 65,000 tons, and damaging 6 vessels, totaling over 16,000 tons, and in probably sinking 5 vessels, totaling over 11,000 tons, in this four-day period, the 417th Bombardment Group (L) not only dealt a devastating blow to enemy shipping and supply strength but also cleared the way for the initial American invasion of Luzon. The achievements of the 417th Bombardment Group (L) reflect a great honor upon the United States Army Air Force.

                 BY COMMAND OF GENERAL KENNEY:



OFFICIAL:                                                                                     D.R. HUTCHINSON
                                                                                                     Brigadier General, U.S. Army 
  /s/  Perry C. Ragan                                                                        Chief of Air Staff
  /t/   PERRY C. RAGAN
        Colonel, Adjutant General's Department                                      A TRUE EXTRACT COPY:
        Air Adjutant General                                                                            Signature
                                                                                                      MILTON C. CRAWFORD                                                                                                                 Captain, Air Corps.