View source for 801st Medical Air Evacuation Squadron

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{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= 801st Medical Air Evacuation Squadron
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|country= United States
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|role= [[Aeromedical evacuation]]
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|battles= '''[[World War II]]'''<br/>* [[Guadalcanal Campaign]]<br/>* [[New Georgia Campaign]]<br/>* [[Battle of Vella Lavella (land)|Battle of Vella Lavella]]<br/>* [[Bougainville Campaign]]<br/>* [[New Guinea Campaign]]<br/>* [[Philippines Campaign (1944-1945)]]<br/>'''[[Korean War]]'''
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|decorations= [[File:United States Army and U.S. Air Force Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|75 px]]<br/>[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Distinguished Unit Citation Army]]<br/>[[File:AF Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon.png|75 px]]<br/>[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation Air Force]]<br/>[[File:U.S. Navy Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|75 px]]<br/>[[Navy Unit Commendation]]
}}
The '''801st Medical Air Evacuation Squadron''' was a [[United States Army Air Forces]] (USAAF) unit that provided [[aeromedical evacuation]] and support services to front-line units in the Pacific Theater of [[World War II]].  From the latter part of the [[Guadalcanal Campaign]] through [[Operation Cartwheel]] it was attached to [[Marine Aircraft Group 25]] and the [[South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command]] (SCAT).<ref>Armstrong, William. (2017). ''Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT (Images of Aviation)''. Arcadia. {{ISBN|1467127434}}.</ref>
==History==
The squadron organized at [[Bowman Field (Kentucky)|Bowman Field]], Kentucky, as the 801st Medical Squadron, Air Evacuation Transport, and was rushed to the South Pacific for service during the Guadalcanal Campaign before its training regimen was complete.  The 801st was the first Air Evacuation Transport squadron to deploy, and as such its nurses were some of the first American women of the war to enter forward areas during offensive operations.  It began arriving in [[New Caledonia]] in January 1943, starting with a cadre of male flight surgeons who participated in the latter phase of the Guadalcanal Campaign.  It was directly attached to the USAAF [[13th Troop Carrier Squadron]], which itself was attached to MAG-25.  On 28 February 1943, a nurse of the 801st Medical Squadron became the first American servicewoman to land on Guadalcanal. In May 1943 the squadron was renamed the 801st Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron (MAETS).<ref>Armstrong, William. (2017). ''Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT (Images of Aviation)''. Arcadia. {{ISBN|1467127434}}; Page, Evelyn. (1989). ''The Story of Air Evacuation, 1942-1989''. Taylor Publishing Company.</ref>
As the only component of SCAT specifically trained in aeromedical evacuation, the 801st contributed to operations throughout the advance through the Solomon Islands.  SCAT crews typically included a nurse, medical corpsman, or flight surgeon from the 801st, or a hospital corpsman or flight surgeon from Headquarters Squadron, MAG-25.  After the Bougainville Campaign the 801st, recently renamed a Medical Air Evacuation Squadron (MAES), separated from MAG-25 and continued its service in the Southwest Pacific under the [[54th Tactical Fighter Wing|54th Troop Carrier Wing]] of the U.S. Fifth Air Force.<ref>Armstrong, William. (2017). ''Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT (Images of Aviation)''. Arcadia. {{ISBN|1467127434}}; Page, Evelyn. (1989). ''The Story of Air Evacuation, 1942-1989''. Taylor Publishing Company.</ref>
The 801st MAES received a [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Distinguished Unit Citation]] for operations during the Philippines Campaign.<ref>Page, Evelyn. (1989). ''The Story of Air Evacuation, 1942-1989''. Taylor Publishing Company.</ref> SCAT, including the 801st MAETS, received a [[Navy Unit Commendation]] for its operations in the South Pacific from December 1942 to July 1944.<ref>Armstrong, William. (2017). ''Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT (Images of Aviation)''. Arcadia. {{ISBN|1467127434}}.</ref>
The 801st MAES resumed its role during the Korean War, operating as part of the [[315th Air Division]] of the [[United States Air Force]], and received the [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]] for evacuation of over 6,000 casualties during September and December, 1950.<ref>Page, Evelyn. (1989). ''The Story of Air Evacuation, 1942-1989''. Taylor Publishing Company.</ref>
==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}
===Bibliography===
*Armstrong, William. (2017). ''Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT (Images of Aviation)''. Arcadia. {{ISBN|1467127434}}.
*Page, Evelyn, ed. (1989). ''The Story of Air Evacuation, 1942-1989''. Taylor Publishing Company.
==Further reading==
* Capt. Robert Joseph Allen and 1st Lt. Otis Carney, ''The Story of SCAT: Part I'' and ''The Story of SCAT: Part II'', in Air Transport magazine, December 1944 and January 1945, accessed at The DC3 Aviation Museum [https://web.archive.org/web/20061025150214/http://www.centercomp.com/cgi-bin/dc3/stories?1910] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20061025153018/http://www.centercomp.com/cgi-bin/dc3/stories?1909] 2 August 2006
* Capt. John M. Rentz, ''Marines in the Central Solomons'' (Ch.6, The Role of Aviation: pp.&nbsp;141–145), USMC Monograph accessed at [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-CSol/USMC-M-CSol-6.html] 2 August 2006
*  Maj. Gen. Norman J. Anderson and Col. William K. Snyder, ''SCAT'', Marine Corps Gazette, September 1992 accessed at [https://web.archive.org/web/20061025152455/http://www.centercomp.com/cgi-bin/dc3/stories?1908] 2 August 2006
* Seth P. Washburne, ''The Thirsty 13th'', [http://www.thirsty13th.com]
[[Category:Pacific Ocean theater of World War II]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1942]]
[[Category:Aeromedical evacuation squadrons of the United States Air Force]]