China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, where he flew C-47 Skytrain transport combat missions from India throughout the Burma Campaign and C-46 Commandos over the "Hump" in the Himalaya Mountains to Shanghai and Beijing. After five years with the Reserve and Air National Guard, during which he received a bachelor's degree from the University of Maine, Rushworth was recalled to active duty in 1951. During Korean War, Rushworth served as a F-80C Shooting Star pilot with the 49th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Dow Air Force Base.