21st Troop Carrier Squadron; Unit 4

Unit 4, a special detachment of the 21st Troop Carrier Squadron, activated in July 1950 on the Island of Kyushu, Japan (thus known as the "Kyushu Gypsies") only 8 days after the start of the Korean War. Under the operational command of the 374th Troop Carrier Wing, Heavy, it began flying spy missions which included night parachute drops behind enemy lines to spy and relay info to orbiting C-47s known as "Operation Aviary". The unit established a Special Air Missions detachment at Taegu AB to fly "white" missions by day, then "black" missions of low level infiltration flights behind enemy lines at night. More info can be found in the book, Apollo's Warriors by Michael E. Haas.