351st Missile Wing
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The 351st Missile Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit, which was last based at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. Assigned to Strategic Air Command for most of its existence, the wing maintained LGM-30F Minuteman II ICBMs in a state of readiness to fire, pursuant to any launch orders that might be received from the National Command Authority. It was inactivated in 1995.
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (December 2012) |
351st Missile Wing | |
---|---|
Active | 1942–1945; 1947–1949; 1962–1995 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Type | Missile Wing |
Role | Strategic Attack |
Motto(s) | Sentinels of Peace |
Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
Insignia | |
351st Missile Wing emblem[lower-alpha 1][1] | |
Unofficial 351st Bombardment Group emblem[2] | |
Group tail marking[2][lower-alpha 2] | Triangle J |
During World War II, its predecessor unit, the 351st Bombardment Group was a VIII Bomber Command Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress unit. Flying from RAF Polebrook in Northamptonshire in early 1943, the group's 504th Bomb Squadron made 54 consecutive missions in June 1943 to January 1944 without losses. Two members of the 351st Bombardment Group, Second Lieutenant Walter E. Truemper and Staff Sergeant Archibald Mathies, were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for a mission to Leipzig, Germany, on 20 February 1944. Fellow crew member Carl Moore earned the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during the mission. Additionally, the crew earned a Silver Star and seven Purple Hearts, which made them the most decorated B-17 crew of the Eighth Air Force in World War Two.
The 351st was also the unit to which Captain Clark Gable was assigned.[lower-alpha 3] Gable flew five combat missions, including one to Germany, as an observer-gunner in B-17 Flying Fortresses between 4 May and 23 September 1943, earning the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts.