79TH Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron

The 79th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron was an Air Force unit activated in 1952, originally as the 79th Air Rescue Squadron. Stationed at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, the squadron played a vital role in search and rescue operations throughout the Pacific region, including during the Vietnam War, where it conducted numerous combat rescue missions. Operating aircraft such as the HC-130 Hercules, the unit specialized in long-range search, rescue, and aeromedical evacuation. The 79th was inactivated in 1997 as part of post-Cold War restructuring, having earned a distinguished record for saving lives under dangerous conditions.