Twentieth Air Force Bombardment Group, remaining at North Field, Guam as its only operational organization. In 1949, budget reductions forced the realignment and consolidation of Air Force units in the pacific, and the mission of Twentieth Air Force became the defense of the Ryukyu Islands and was reassigned to Kadena AB, Okinawa. It commanded the following units: On 27 June 1950, the United Nations Security Council voted to assist the South Koreans in resisting the invasion of their nation by North Korea. President Harry S. Truman authorized General Douglas MacArthur (commander of the US occupying forces in Japan) to commit units to the
United States Air Force In South Korea out of Korea. The first advanced detachment of 336th FIS F-86As arrived at Kimpo airfield (K-14) west of Seoul on 15 December. The first Sabre mission took place on 17 December. It was an armed reconnaissance of the region just south of the Yalu. Lt. Col. Bruce H. Hinton, commander of the 336th Squadron, succeeding in shooting down one MiG-15 out of a flight of four, to score first blood for the Sabre. By the end of 1950, Chinese armies had driven UN forces out of North Korea and had begun to invade the South. The Sabres were forced to