Charles Joseph Loring Jr. was a fighter pilot in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, and later in the United States Air Force in the Korean War. Loring rose to the rank of major and posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on November 22, 1952, above Kunwha, Korea during a close air support mission.
Major Charles J. Loring Jr., U.S. Air Force
A group of P-47 Thunderbolts of the 22nd Fighter Squadron at Le Culot, Belgium in late 1944, as evidenced by the modified fuselage invasion stripes (removed from fuselage & wing upper surfaces). Loring was flying aircraft 44-19864 (left) when he was shot down over Belgium and made a Prisoner of War.
Cenotaph at Arlington National Cemetery
Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star
The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, production models were flying, and two pre-production models did see very limited service in Italy just before the end of World War II. Designed with straight wings, the type saw extensive combat in Korea with the United States Air Force (USAF) as the F-80.
Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star
The original XP-80 prototype Lulu-Belle
XP-80A Gray Ghost in flight
Operational P-80Bs at Langley AFB
