Airborne Early Warning Vets Reunite In Md.
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- Veterans of an unusual Navy squadron formed in response to World War II kamikaze pilots are holding a reunion in Hagerstown.
Organizer Paul Morgan says 15 to 20 veterans who served during the 1950s are attending the VW-1 Vanguard Reunion starting Monday.
The squadron flew radar-equipped planes that were conceived during World War II to spot Japanese suicide pilots flying too low for detection by shipboard radar units.
In the 1950s, the squadron became an early warning unit for spotting enemy ships and aircraft. The squadron was briefly deployed to Korea for combat patrolling in 1953.
In the 1960s, the squadron's primary mission became weather reconnaissance for spotting tropical storms and typhoons.
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