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On September 18, 1947, the USAAC separated from the U.S. Army with the implementation of the National Security Act of 1947. Due to the growing need and importance for air power, the new branch was renamed the U.S. Air Force. It became home to a number of units and service members, each dedicated and passionate to achieve mission success. Many units that fell under the newly-created Air Force had their origins, activations and history within the USAAC—the 489th BG is one such unit.
And now, around 70 years from the unit’s inactivation and the U.S. Air Force’s creation, they are still exemplifying the innovation, dedication and talent that the U.S. Air Force asks of them, and often exceed it. Since the unit was reactivated in 2015, the members of the 489th BG have focused to continue the legacy of the service members who walked before them.
“Aside from my family when I retire, my command of the 489th Bomb Group will be my proudest accomplishment,” said Col. Denis Heinz, 489th BG commander. “I can’t express all of the pride and joy I have for what the Airmen of the 489th have done since its reactivation.”
The 489th Bomb Group, originally named the 489th Bombardment Group, Heavy, was activated on Oct. 1, 1943 at Wendover Field, Utah. After several months of training in the B-24 Liberator, the 489th BG traveled to Royal Air Field Halesworth, England, in April, 1944. According to the unit’s historical page, it flew several bombing missions in preparation of the Invasion of Normandy in June, 1944.
The 489th BG supported the Invasion of Normandy and continued in their mission with bombing interdiction targets in northern France, and then key targets in Germany in July. The 489th BG remained in the European Theater of Operations for several months, aiding liberated areas of France and the Netherlands with airdropped food until returning to the United States at the end of the year.
By early spring of 1945, the 489th BG was renamed the 489th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy, and began training with the B-29 Superfortress in preparation for deployment to the Pacific Theater of Operations. The war ended before the unit completed their training, and was eventually inactivated on Oct. 17, 1945 following Japan’s surrender.
For 70 years, the 489th BG’s legacy lived on through the former members, who often met for reunions to recount stories from the unit’s active days during the war. However, when the 489th BG was reactivated as a reserve unit, the timing couldn’t have been any better.
“They stopped having annual reunions around 2005, since many of them were getting older and finding it hard to make such a move,” Heinz said. “When the 489th was standing up, we reached out and invited them to the unit’s reactivation ceremony. As luck would have it, we were able to have the ceremony on Oct. 17, 2015, exactly 70 years since it was inactivated. You should have seen the emotion in their faces when they saw their symbol on the side of a B-1B Lancer. It looks a little different, a little newer, but we’re still the same unit that they were a part of 70 years ago.”
The reactivation of the 489th BG served not only to continue the legacy of those who served in World War II, but to incorporate both Air Force Reserve Airmen as part of Total Force Integration. Despite the Airmen’s part-time work on base, they are still tasked to meet all of the requirements of their active-duty counterparts.
“Imagine having to do all of your work for the wing, but only having your workforce for two months out of the year,” Heinz said. “We have to be efficient, skilled and very proactive. When there’s a deployment that’s four months out, for example, we only have eight training days to be ready.”
While keeping the Airmen within a reserve unit trained is a challenge that requires careful planning and dedication, making sure that there are Airmen to train is another thing entirely.
“Unlike active-duty Airmen, our reservists come from and live all over the local area,” said Chief Master Sgt. Ricky Fugate, 489th BG chief enlisted manager. “Some of them have to travel as far as 300 miles to perform their required drill time. But we work with them and help our troops juggle civilian life and military duty.”
Since 2015, 489th BG Airmen have exceeded the expectations set upon them.
“Even though we’ve faced challenges, my Airmen have been able to achieve a lot of great things,” Heinz said. “Since October of 2015, we’ve had zero sortie maintenance cancelations and have participated in every 7th Bomb Wing exercise and deployment. We’re also number one in the entire Air Force for Individual Medical Readiness stats for the year of 2016. There’s certainly an overall level of excellence to be found in the 489th BG.”
With the transition in leadership in the near future, Heinz and Fugate both have high hopes and pride for the Airmen of the 489th and what they’ve been able to accomplish.
“I feel that it is a great honor to be the first chief master sergeant of the 489th BG,” said Fugate. “My words of advice and inspiration for the Airmen of the 489th BG are simple: never forget who you are, where you came from, and be the very best that you can be. Always remember our chant: reservists saving the world, one weekend at a time.”
Heinz too had words of advice and inspiration for the Airmen of the 489th BG, directly from a book written by Charles Frudenthal, a former 489th Bombardment Group member:
“The original 489th Bomb Group, activated Oct. 1, 1943 at Wendover Army Air Field, Utah, was born into a time of confusion as one of numberless similar units. Friendships developed almost overnight and were lost just as quickly. It was a time of meetings and departures; greetings and leave-takings; hellos and goodbyes. The Group was the permanent thing—the number 489. People came and went, equipment changed and the organization moved. But the number remained, and that was home.”
| Date Taken: | 05.26.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.26.2017 11:27 |
| Story ID: | 235460 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 169 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 489th Bomb Group: Continuing tradition, by SrA Rebecca Van Syoc, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
