489th Bomb Group

489th Bomb Group
Active1943–1945; 2015–present
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
RoleBombardment
Part ofAir Force Reserve Command
Garrison/HQDyess Air Force Base
Motto(s)Ex Tenebris Lux Veritatis Latin Out of Darkness, the Light of Truth[1]
EngagementsEuropean Theater of Operations
Commanders
Current
commander
Col. Christopher G. Hawn[2] (as of 13 July 2019)
Insignia
489th Bomb Group emblem[note 2][3]
489th Bombardment Group emblem (World War II)[1][note 3]
Eighth Air Force tail code[1][note 4]Circle W

The 489th Bomb Group (489 BG) is a unit of the United States Air Force within the Air Force Reserve Command. It is assigned to the 307th Bomb Wing, and is stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. The group is a reserve associate unit of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess.

During World War II, the 489th Bombardment Group was a Consolidated B-24 Liberator unit. After training in the United States, it moved to England as an element of Eighth Air Force, stationed at RAF Halesworth, England. Lieutenant Colonel Leon Vance of the group was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery and actions on the day before D-Day over Wimereux, France. It was the only Medal of Honor awarded to a B-24 crewman for a mission flown from England.[4][note 5] The group returned to the United States in November 1944 and converted to a Boeing B-29 Superfortress group, but the war ended before the group could deploy to the Pacific.

In October 2015, the group was reactivated in the Air Force Reserve.


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ a b c Watkins, pp. 114–115
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference New 489 BG Commander was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Haulman, Daniel L. (27 July 2017). "Factsheet 489 Bomb Group (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  4. ^ Freeman, p. 261