July 1950
51st Fighter Squadron (Provisional)
Prior to the arrival of the “Dallas Squadron” at Taegu, FAF created on July 10th the 51st Fighter Squadron (Provisional) at Taegu, and authorized it to incorporate the American personnel from “Bout-One” and the “Dallas” pilots.
At the same time, FAF created the 6002nd Air Base Squadron and sent it to Korea.
The “Dallas” pilots were quickly airlifted to Johnson AB on July 10th, checked out in Mustangs, drew their supplies and other equipment, then ferried their planes to Taegu, where they prepared to go into combat.
On the night of July 9th, 1950, fifteen F-51 pilots—“without a home, and without airplanes, went looking for a war,” Biteman recalled.
“We boarded a C-54 transport for the all-night flight to Johnson Field, Japan, the nostalgic site of my first assignment to Japan in 1948. While Captain Moreland, our designated CO, went on to Tokyo to arrange our airlift to Ashiya on the southern island of Kyushu, and to collect instructions and orders from FEAF Headquarters, the rest of us ranged across Johnson Field to beg, borrow or steal the supplies and equipment we would need in Korea.
Lieutenant Chuck Hauver, our “chief thief” Supply Officer somehow managed a whole plane load of tents and a complete Field Kitchen; a notable accomplishment, inasmuch as the units at Johnson were reluctant to give up their equipment...they didn’t know how soon they would need it themselves.”
Biteman did his best to scrounge up needed supplies and equipment.
“The best I could do was gather a couple of portable field tables, a packet of maps—and a bright young, able-bodied, red-headed Intelligence Clerk, Sergeant Dan Thornton who had worked for me at Clark, and had recently been transferred to Johnson.”
Biteman convinced Thornton to join us, telling him “we would arrange for his formal, written orders later. He probably never knew it, but he was subsequently declared AWOL (Absent Without Leave), and it took me weeks to get his records cleared, and convince the headquarters that he was, in fact, with us in Korea and doing one fine job.”
That evening, July 10th, “we had three C-54 loads of equipment on their way to Ashiya,” Biteman noted.
“We rode “shotgun” to make sure no other Korea-bound outfit came along and hijacked the hard-won gear which we had so recently stolen. And, by that same day, the North Koreans had advanced rapidly southward in a three-pronged attack into the west, central and eastern parts of South Korea.”
“While we were moving our gear from Johnson to Ashiya,” Biteman recalled, “B-29s from Okinawa had bombed the rail and highway bridges at Pyongtaek, trying to slow the Reds western thrust. As the North Korean traffic piled up at the resulting roadblock, they were sighted by a lone F-51 pilot of the 35th Fighter Group, returning from an afternoon reconnaissance mission, who called for help. During the rest of the day, until it was too dark to see anything but the blazing wrecks, all available F-51s, F-80s, F-82s, plus the B-26 and B-29 bombers had a real “turkey shoot.”
When it was over, the Reds had lost 38 Russian-made tanks, 117 trucks and hundreds of troops. It was the first major air strike, and it slowed their advance toward Taejon enough for General Dean to pull some of his 24th Infantry troops together for a further delaying action.
Arrival at Ashiya
“When the Dallas Squadron was formed, the advance party went to Johnson AFB to get support to equip the Dallas project,” Col. Harry Moreland recalled.
(L-R) Lt. Jack Crawford, Lt. Col. “Ike” Wintermute and Captain Harry “Mo” Moreland at K-2/Taegu. Wintermute was commanding the 18th Group at the time, but had little fighter experience.
“I, with a few others, went to Ashiya to make arrangements to receive the Squadron. At that point I went to see General Timberlake to smooth out our move first to Ashiya and then on to Korea. I was a Captain at that time and when General Timberlake met me he immediately said he wanted to meet with the squadron commander not some Captain. At that point he called the CO of the 18th Group in the Philippines [Lt. Col. Ira “Ike” Wintermute], and was told that I was the squadron commander of the 12th, had flown two tours of combat in the ETO and that he considered me the man for the job. After that we had a good meeting to decide what to do with us--and that was to get ready for a move to K-2. Captain Jerry Mau, instead of remaining at Johnson, went on ahead to K-2 to size up the situation and to help facilitate our move a few days later. In less than three weeks, we went from an F-80 squadron based in the Philippine Islands, to an F-51 squadron flying combat missions in Korea. We had no time for training flights.”