563rd Rescue Group

563rd Rescue Group
The crew of the first HC-130J in front of their plane on Davis-Monthan AFB
Active	1944–1957, 1966–1976, 2003 – present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Combat Search and Rescue
Part of	Air Combat Command
Garrison/HQ	Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona
Motto(s)	Per Adversa ad Ereptionem (Latin for 'Through Adversity to the Rescue')
Engagements	Southwest Pacific Theater Korean War Vietnam War
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation Presidential Unit Citation Air Force Meritorious Unit Award Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation Korean Presidential Unit Citation Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm
Insignia
563rd Rescue Group emblem[note 1][1]
3rd Emergency Rescue Squadron emblem during World War II

The 563rd Rescue Group is a United States Air Force unit stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The group also controls the rescue squadrons at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. It is assigned to the 355th Wing. The group directs flying operations dedicated to personnel recovery and is part of Air Combat Command. The group was activated under its current designation at Davis-Monthan in 2003 to command rescue units in the western United States.

The group was first activated during World War II as the 3rd Emergency Rescue Squadron at Keesler Field, Mississippi. After training on the Gulf Coast, the squadron moved to the Southwest Pacific Theater in the fall of 1944, and served in combat until the surrender of Japan, earning a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. After the war, the squadron moved to Japan, where it became part of the occupation forces, and was located there when the Korean War began. It again served in combat, expanding to become the 3rd Air Rescue Group in 1952, and earning two Distinguished Unit Citations and two Korean Presidential Unit Citations during the war. The group was inactivated in 1957, when Air Rescue Service eliminated its groups and assigned its squadrons directly to its regional rescue centers.

The group was organized again at Tan Son Nhut Airport in 1966 as the 3rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group, to command United States Air Force rescue units engaged in the War in Vietnam. It participated in every campaign after 1966, winning an additional four Presidential Unit Citations, an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device and two Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm during combat in Southeast Asia. When the United States withdrew from Vietnam, the group moved its headquarters to Thailand and, after participating in the evacuations of Phnom Penh and Saigon, was inactivated there in 1976.

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