Collaborative Exhibition Coming Spring 2025
The Consortium of Indio-Pacific Researchers and the New Mexico Military Museum are teaming up to tell the story of the 1st Provisional Air Corps Regiment (PACR).
The 27th Bombardment Group, a subsidiary to the Far East Air Force were initially equipped with A-24 Banshee aircraft; the group was deployed to the Philippines in late 1941. However, upon arrival, their aircraft were diverted elsewhere, leaving the group without planes when Japan attacked the Philippines in December 1941.
In response to the dire situation, the 27th Bombardment Group's personnel and remaining units from the Far East Air Force were reorganized as the 1st Provisional Air Corps Regiment (PACR), serving as infantry during the Battle of Bataan. Despite lacking formal infantry training, they adapted by salvaging machine guns and cannons from damaged aircraft to fortify American positions. Their resilience earned them the nickname "The Steadfast Line."
After the fall of Bataan, many members of the group endured the Bataan Death March and subsequent imprisonment. Meanwhile, the air echelon of the group, which had been operating elsewhere, continued to fight in the Pacific theater, earning multiple Distinguished Unit Citations and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for their valor.
This Collaborative exhibition will open at the New Mexico Military Museum this spring, with a lecture series by members of the Consortium of Indio-Pacific Researchers and Museum staff to follow in the Fall of 2025, marking the 84th anniversary of the formation of the 1st Provisional Air Corps Regiment (PACR).
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