619th Bombardment Squadron

919th Air Refueling Squadron
Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker in Strategic Air Command markings
Active	1943; 1944–1945; 1960–1971
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Air Refueling
Motto(s)	Dependable
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
919th Air Refueling Squadron emblem
619th Bombardment Squadron emblem (approved 18 August 1944)

The 919th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 306th Bombardment Wing, stationed at McCoy Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 30 June 1971.

The squadron was first activated as the 619th Bombardment Squadron in 1943. It was one of the four squadrons of the 477th Bombardment Group, the first (and only) bombardment group in the United States Army Air Forces to include black pilots. Members of the squadron participated in the Freeman Field Mutiny, protesting racial segregation in the military. The squadron was inactivated in 1945 when the 477th became a composite group that included one bombardment and one fighter squadron.

The 919th Air Refueling Squadron was activated as a Strategic Air Command (SAC) tanker squadron in 1960 and moved to Turner Air Force Base, Georgia as part of SAC's program to disperse its Boeing B-52 Stratofortress as a defense against a first strike by the Soviet Union. The squadron served in this capacity for eleven years during which it deployed aircraft and aircrews to Southeast Asia during the Viet Nam War.

The two squadrons were consolidated into a single unit in 1985, but the consolidated squadron has never been active.

The 619th Bombardment Squadron was activated in June 1943 at MacDill Field, Florida. as one of the four original squadrons of the 477th Bombardment Group, but was inactivated in August.

...
Wikipedia