The 82d Reconnaissance Squadron is part of the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USA. It is geographically separated from the 55th, operating from Kadena Air Base in Japan. The squadron operates Boeing RC-135 aircraft flying reconnaissance missions.

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Quick Facts 82d Reconnaissance Squadron, Active ...

82d Reconnaissance Squadron
82d Reconnaissance Squadron Patch
Active	1 June 1937 – 1 April 1949 24 January 1955 – 1 July 1957 25 August 1967 – 30 September 1976 2 October 1991 - present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Reconnaissance and Surveillance
Part of	Air Combat Command 12th Air Force 55th Wing 55th Operations Group
Garrison/HQ	Kadena Air Base
Decorations	DUC AFOUA w/ V Device PPUC RVGC w/ Palm

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The 82d flew antisubmarine patrols off the California coast from 8 December 1941 to 16 August 1942. It went on to fly combat sorties in the Southwest and Western Pacific from 27 November 1943 to 15 August 1945.

On 11 January 1945, while flying an F-6D Mustang on an armed reconnaissance mission over northern Luzon in the Philippines, Captain William A. Shomo, the squadron commander at the time, sighted a Japanese formation of twelve fighters escorting a bomber. He attacked and succeeded in shooting down the bomber and six of the fighters while his wingman, Lieutenant Paul Lipscomb, shot down three more fighters. Shomo was awarded the Medal of Honor for this action.

The squadron flew strategic reconnaissance over Southeast Asia from August 1967 to March 1973.^[1]

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