359th pilots flew combat missions with the 78th Fighter Group. At first, the group engaged primarily in escort missions to cover Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers that attacked airfields in France. It also flew patrol, strafing, dive bombing and weather reconnaissance missions. In April 1944, the group began converting to the North American P-51 Mustang, whose extended range permitted it to provide escort for bombers that struck rail centers in Germany and oil targets in Poland. With the Mustang, the group supported Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, by patrolling the English Channel, escorting bomber formations to the French coast, and dive bombing and strafing bridges, locomotives, and rail lines near the battle area. From July 1944 until February 1945, the group engaged chiefly in escorting bombers to oil refineries, marshalling yards, and other targets in such cities as Berlin, Brux, Frankfurt am Main, Ludwigshafen, Merseburg and Stuttgart. The group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations over Germany on 11 September 1944 when the group protected a formation of heavy bombers against large numbers of enemy fighters. In addition to its escort duties, the 359th supported campaigns in France during July and August 1944, bombed enemy positions to support Operation Market Garden, the airborne attempt to size a bridgehead across the Rhine near Nijmegen in September, and participated in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and January 1945. The group flew missions to support Operation Varsity, the airborne attack to seize a bridgehead across the Rhine at Wesel in March 1945. It also escorted medium bombers attacking German lines of communication from February 1945 through April. Following V-E Day, the 359th Fighter Group remained in England until November 1945, although most of its personnel were transferred to other unit, and its aircraft shipped to depots. It sailed on the on 4 November. It arrived at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, where it was inactivated on 10 November 1945. Notable pilots Ray Wetmore was credited with 21.25 victories in aerial combat and ended the war as a 21-year-old major. His last victory was on March 15, 1945 near Wittenberg, destroying a Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet rocket fighter. Avelin P. Tacon Jr. was commander of the 359th Fighter Group and went on to become a major general in the US Air force. Howard L. Fogg, an American artist specializing in railroad art, flew 76 combat missions