World War II The
squadron was activated at
Ephrata Army Air Base as the
817th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 20 September 1943 as one of the four original squadrons of the
483d Bombardment Group. In November, the squadron moved to
MacDill Field, Florida, where it trained with
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses under
Third Air Force, as
Second Air Force began to concentrate on very heavy bomber training. The 817th deployed to the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it became part of
Fifteenth Air Force at
Sterparone Airfield in Southern Italy. It began operations in April 1944 with an attack on a cement factory in
Split, Yugoslavia. The squadron engaged in
strategic bombing campaign against Germany, striking military, industrial and transport targets, including factories,
oil refineries,
marshalling yards, airfields, and troop concentrations in Italy, France. Southern Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and the Balkans. The squadron received a
Distinguished Unit Citation for combat action two months later. On 18 July 1944 the squadron, along with the other elements of the 483d Group, bombed the objective, an
airfield and installations at
Memmingen, engaging numerous enemy aircraft in the target area despite a lack of cover from its planned fighter escort. It received a second citation for braving
fighter assaults and
flak to bomb tank factories at
Berlin on 24 March 1945. In its place, the Air Force activated the
483d Troop Carrier Wing. The 817th was activated as the
817th Troop Carrier Squadron and absorbed the mission, personnel and
Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars of the
65th Troop Carrier Squadron, which was simultaneously inactivated. In June 1953, the squadron, along with the other squadrons of the 483d Wing airlifted the
187th Regimental Combat Team from Japan to Korea, to prevent a breakthrough by North Korean and Chinese Communist forces before an armistice agreement could be signed. The squadron was active a second time at
Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, flying
Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIs with crews rotating from the four squadrons of the
62d Airlift Wing and of its reserve associate
446th Airlift Wing at
McChord Air Force Base, Washington as part of the global
war on terrorism. The squadron provided strategic airlift,
aeromedical evacuation and humanitarian support for
Operation Enduring Freedom and
Operation New Dawn. It operated as part of AMC's two expeditionary airlift squadron model, operating outside the theater of operations, while the
816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron handled C-17 operations within the theater. ==Lineage==