Historical Account: "Air Commandos" - The 4th Fighter Squadron was immediately tasked with orders for the following day; to bomb and strafe enemy-held airfields on Mindanao, one of them being the former Del Monte Field which was used to evacuate General MacArthur to Australia in 1942. The mission was largely uneventful, with the airfields being put temporarily out of action and two enemy planes destroyed on the ground. For the next several weeks, the squadron flew missions throughout the Philippines.

On January 9th, 1945, two Corps of the Sixth United States Army landed on the shores of Lingayen Gulf on Luzon, just a few miles south of where the Japanese had invaded the island on December 22nd, 1941. From the landing beaches, the Corps drove south to the Manila area while maintaining a strong defensive line to the North. In this liberated beachhead, two major airfields plus smaller liaison landing strips were hastily constructed. On January 13th, the 3rd flew a reconnaissance mission of southeast Luzon and discovered a concentration of enemy troops and equipment attempting to cross a river using a ferry. The pilots began strafing runs which destroyed the ferry and also leveled a village at the site. The Mustangs then attacked enemy vehicles up and down the road, destroying an estimated twelve to fifteen and damaging an undetermined number of vehicles. Also a sweep over the enemy-held airfield at Bulan destroyed a Mitsubishi A6M Zero in a revetment. The next day, ten squadron aircraft escorted some North American B-25 Mitchells in a strike on some enemy positions in the town of Aparri. After destroying the target, a neighboring airfield was strafed, destroying several enemy aircraft on the ground. On the way back over the Cagayan valley, several two-engine Japanese aircraft were seen heading north. Both enemy aircraft were shot down without loss.

On January 16th, the Japanese-held Clark Field was attacked by the squadron. After being captured in 1942, Clark Field became the main Japanese air base in the Philippines. That day, four Air Commando P-51D Mustangs caught a group of enemy aircraft on the parking ramp, with their propellers turning over slowly. Four Nakajima Ki-44s were struck by a 500-pound bomb and were destroyed. Five more enemy fighters were destroyed in strafing runs, and no squadron aircraft were damaged. The same day on Negros Island, other 3rd Fighter Squadron Mustangs discovered some camouflaged enemy aircraft on a landing strip. They were also obliterated by strafing fire, but one Mustang was hit by 20-mm antiaircraft fire and was forced to bail out over the sea. The pilot, Capt. Charles B. Adams, was picked up safely by a Consolidated PBY Catalina the next day and he was returned to the squadron. Shortly afterwards, the squadron moved up from Leyte to Lingayen Airfield on Luzon. The squadron's last mission from Tanaunan hit Baguio, the prewar summer capital of the Philippine Government. It had become the Japanese Commander in the Philippines, General Yamashita's headquarters. Sixteen Mustangs, along with Consolidated B-24 Liberators from the 22d Bombardment Group attacked the Headquarters. The target was obliterated with direct hits on administration buildings, the message center, warehouses, barracks and officer's quarters.

Unable to be re-equipped, the Japanese resorted to hiding their remaining aircraft, and few enemy aircraft were being caught in the open. Throughout the remainder of January enemy air activity in the Philippines was minimal, as the Mustangs outclassed the Japanese aircraft thoroughly. The move to Mangaldan Airfield on Luzon meant that much of the time, the Mustangs were used flying close support missions for the infantry. The drive on Manila by the Sixth Army was on a narrow front from the Lyngayen beaches, and the squadron was needed to protect the division's open flanks. The month of February saw the squadron attack a pair of Japanese ships, identified at an Akizuki-class destroyer and destroyer escort being sighted heading south in the Luzon Strait between Formosa and Luzon. Twenty-two Mustangs were assembled from both the 3rd and 4th Fighter Squadrons and loaded with 500-pound bombs. Fighters scored two direct hits on the larger vessel and two on the smaller one. The Japanese defensive gunners were accurate and several P-51s were damaged, with two going down, but both pilots were recovered.