Tom Rago

The 397th Bombardment Squadron was an active unit of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Activated in 1942, it was assigned to the 6th Bombardment Group and operated primarily in the Caribbean and the Panama Canal Zone, where its main mission was antisubmarine patrols and defense of the vital canal. Flying aircraft such as the B-18 Bolo and B-24 Liberator, the squadron played an essential role in deterring Axis naval threats in the region. The 397th Bombardment Squadron was inactivated in 1944 as the threat to the canal diminished and the strategic focus of the war shifted.