February 3, 1944: The 500th, along with other squadrons of the 345th, participated in a maximum effort against Dagua, 22 miles northwest of Wewak, New Guinea. Capt. Michael Hochella, in his mustang-nosed STUBBORN HELLION, led the 500th in over the fierce flak barrage after the 498th hit the target.

February 5, 1944:Lt. Dale Speicher and his crew were credited with sinking a 2500 ton freighter in Hansa Bay.

February 15, 1944: FLIGHT INTO HELL!  After the very successful attack on Dagua, the 500th participated in what proved to be one of the 345th Group's most difficult missions. With several supply and gasoline dumps blazing as a result of the prior 38th Bomb Group attack, Capt. Max Mortensen attacked with nine 500th strafers. Mortensen, in RITA'S WAGON, plunged into the smoke of the existing blazes, stringing his 500-pound bombs through the supply areas from the main wharf to Chinatown. Meanwhile Capt.Michael Hochella's STUBBORN HELLION, in the lead of a three plane flight, was ripped open from "stem to stern", with gashes every six inches or so along the left side of the plane. After a convincing strafing and bombing of the target, he noticed that he had an engine out.

Meanwhile the second wave of planes took the brunt of the AA fire. Lt. Thane Hecox led one group skirting the shoreline, while the 500th Operations Officer, Capt. William J. Cavoli, led the group to the right. As they raced across the target, 1/Lt. Robert E. Lewis, Cavoli's navigator, saw 55 gallon gasoline drums sailing skyward. Suddenly Hecox's right engine burst into flames. His aircraft began a shallow decline, which ended in a fiery explosion at the edge of Chinatown. Capt. Sylvester A. Hoffman, the plane's navigator, was on his last mission before his scheduled return to the U.S. Cavoli, flying on instruments going through the dense smoke, lost his right engine which caught fire. He fought to keep his B-25 airborne, but recognized he was losing the fight and prepared to ditch. He leveled out as he crossed the shoreline and held the plane in the prescribed tail down ditching position. The aircraft hit the water, skipped, and bounced again, finally burying it's nose in the side of a large wave. Fortunately Cavoli, copilot Lt. George Braun, 1/Lt. Robert Lewis, S/Sgt. John Murphy, Sgt. Weldon Isler and T/Sgt. Thomas B. Freeman made it out okay and into the life raft, as the plane sank.

After exiting the Kavieng target area, Capt. Hochella had to put the STUBBORN HELLION down as they had ran out of luck. Landing about 75 yards from an island, the crew survived the ditching. with the exception of 1/Lt. John J. Howard, Hochella's navigator/bombardier, who was missing and presumed to have gone down with the aircraft when it sank. Beside Hochella, those who made it to the edge of the island were 2/Lt. William H. Bright, S/Sgt. Elmore C. Stephens, Pvt. Clyde R. Lambert and S/Sgt. Sam Kellar made it to the edge of the island.

Lt. JG Nathan Gordon (USN) earned the Medal of honor for his daring rescues on this day as pilot of a PBY Catalina. There were three crews floating in life rafts within a few thousand yards of Kavieng. Lt. Gordon made several landings in the Kavieng harbor area and, after loading nine downed airmen aboard, started a return to his home base. At this point, Maj. Chester Coltharp of the 498th squadron, radioed the PBY that he had spotted another crew (Cavoli's) in Kavieng Harbor and that he would fly cover for him if he would return to rescue them. At first Gordon was a bit reluctant to do so, since he already had 19 men on board his PBY (including his own crew) and was fearful that all of them would be killed immediately if they fell into Japanese hands. Nevertheless he felt that he could not leave any fellow airmen to face such a fate. So he circled in full range of shore batteries and, under heavy enemy fire, landed to take on Cavoli's crew of six. Ending his Flight into Hell with a total of 25 men aboard (including his own crewmembers), Lt. Gordon headed his PBY toward his home base near Finschafen, New Guinea. Subsequently, Gordon was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic rescue.

Now back to Hochella and his crew. They heard Lt. Gordon make several landings between them and the target, and expected to be rescued by the PBY, but this didn't happen then. They heard the sounds of the engines fade into the distance and knew that they were now on their own, at least for awhile.

February 16, 1944: After completing his bombing/strafing mission to New Hanover (an island west of New Ireland), Capt. Dougherty flew over an area where he thought Hochella may have gone down the day before. He was successful in finding them, whereupon he dropped some emergency survival supplies for them. The next day, Dougherty flew as an observer on a PBY, which rescued Hochella's crew.

February 17, 1944: Four planes of the 500th found a 1200-ton freighter at anchor along the north coast of New Hanover. Under attack by Capt. Frank Latawiec, the freighter broke in half and settled to the bottom.

February 19, 1944:Keith Dougherty, while flying AVOCA AVENGER on a shipping attack mission, spotted the 1933-ton SHINTO MARU #1. Dropping down to wave-top level, he and another 500th B-25 strafed and bombed the vessel broadside, causing her to roll and sink. The 500th also damaged the 892 ton TATSUKIU MARU, and a 20 ton barge.

February 21, 1944:Attacking shipping again, the 500th scored some good hits. 1/Lts William A James and George C. Mitchell, roared in first, attacking a patrol craft and what appeared to be a destroyer. Next came 1/Lts George I. Davis and Richard B. Fritzshall, singling out a patrol craft with one of their bombs causing a fire on it. Davis continued straight ahead putting the 3871 ton KOKAI  MARU in his sights. He strafed all the way in and released his bombs causing dense black smoke and flames to come from the ship.  Meanwhile, Mitchell attacked the KOWA MARU causing much damage

February 23, 1944: The 345th Group completed moving to its new home at Nadzab, New Guinea.

February 15, 1945: On a mission to a Japanese bivouac area on Bataan, 1/Lt. Joseph Herick had one of the 1000-pound bombs hang up in the bomb bay of GRAND SLAM. After circling near San Marcelino for some time, he finally ordered the crew to bail out and P-47s shot the B-25 down.

February 21, 1945:Capt. Thomas R. Bazzel replaced Maj. Mortensen as 500th Squadron commander, upon the transfer of Mortensen to Group Operations Officer.