During World War II, the units predecessor unit, the 58th Fighter Group operated primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater as part of Fifth Air Force. The unit received a Distinguished Unit Citation strafing a Japanese naval force off Mindoro in the Philippines on 26 December 1944 to prevent destruction. During the Korean War, the unit bombed and strafed enemy airfields and installations and supported UN ground forces, remaining in South Korea after the 1953 Armistice.