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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

Lt. Col. Carl A. Group was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces on Nov. 11, 1944. He retired from active service on Aug. 31, 1973 with 30 years of service. He was a rated master navigator, flying B-24 Liberator Bombers in World War II.

In Jul. 1951, his unit, the 433rd Troop Carrier Wing, deployed from Donaldson Air Force Base (AFB), Greenville, South Carolina, to Rhein Main Air Base, Germany, flying the new C-119 Flying Boxcar aircraft. The 433rd was the first Air Force wing deployed to Europe in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Col. Group's career continued in the Strategic Air command (SAC) where he flew KB-29s (a modified Superfortress), KC-97s (Stratotanker) and KC-135s (a later Stratotanker). He served two six month temporary duty tours in Guam while a member of the 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth AFB, Piedmont, South Dakota. He was chief of operations and training in the 376th Strategic Wing, Kadena, Okinawa. During combat operations in Southeast Asia he was awarded the Bronze Star and the Air Medal.