After spending the summer of 1944 bombing Japanese facilities in Burma, personnel of the Chinese-American Composite Wing’s 3^rd Bomb Squadron finally began the transfer to China. Chinese and American ground crews crossed “the Hump” and moved on to Kweilin (Guilin) in late August.  No Japanese planes struck in the vicinity of Kweilin during the day but "they did keep us in the foxholes night after night," according to a service publication. Barracks boys shouted the warning jing bao! ("air raid") as they ran from room to room, turning off lights and banging on wash basins to wake anyone who may have slept through the warning siren. The threat soon became more dire. On September 8, as the squadron’s B-25s were completing the move, the Japanese 11^th Army overran Lingling, only 125 miles farther to the northeast. Then began their advance toward Kweilin.

Pilot of a B-25H, A/C #719, Capt. Mark T. Seacrest led the 3rd Bomb Squadron element, along with three 4th Bomb Squadron planes, on a joint mission from Hanchung. Their objective was to bomb and strafe the Yellow River Bridge. Providing close escort were eight 3rd Fighter Group P-40s that did their job well., despite being attacked by Japanese fighters, and eight 312th Fighter Wing P-47s as top cover that "hit the deck."