UNIT MOVEMENT MAP

The 354th Fighter Group began combat operations on 1 December 1943 when it sent 24 planes on its first operational fighter sweep over Knocke-St. Omer - Calais area thereafter the Group escorted Eighth Air Force heavy bombers to targets deep into Germany up until D-Day when they escorted gliders over France during the early morning hours of the invasion. The Group then moved to France to support General's Patton's Third Army drive across France, flying close air support, armed-reconnaissance, fighter sweeps, patrols, diving bombing, and ocassional escort missions. It participated in the airborne attack on Holland, Battle of the Bulge, and assisted ground forces in their advance to and across the Rhine. After V-E Day, the 354th served with the Army of Occupation.