James Kemp McLaughlin
MilitaryUSAAF Photo
92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favored Few p. 68 Losses of the 8th and 9th lists a crash landing at Athenry, County Galway, Ireland on 15-Jan-43. The B-17 41-9045 'Tennessee Belle' was returning from North Africa to Cornwall. McLaughlin became an instructor pilot at Bovington. May 1943 he requested a transfer back to the 92nd and was assigned to the 326th Bomb Squadron. Flew 39 x combat missions.
Awards: DFC (3OLC), AM (8OLC), Croix de Guerre, WWII Victory, EAME (3 x Battle Stars).
Post war: Authored The Mighty Eighth in World War II. In 1947 he founded the West Virginia Air National Guard, where he served as commander and retired in 1977. A former county commissioner and member of the West Virginia House of Delegates.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Braxton County, WV | 7 December 1918 | Son of James Blaine and Almira [Ballengee] McLaughlin. |
Enlisted |
Fort Hayes, Columbus, OH | 3 September 1941 | Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio |
Died |
Charleston, WV | 16 December 2019 | |
Buried |
Elk Hills Memorial Park Big Chimney, Kanawha County, WV | 19 December 2019 | Elk Hills Memorial Park Big Chimney, Kanawha County, West Virginia |
Based |
Bovingdon | Assigned to 326BS, 92BG, 8AF USAAF. |
Revisions
Brought in information from duplicate record. Source:
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1, by Bishop and Hey p. 64 / 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favored Few p. 68
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1, by Bishop and Hey p. 64 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favored Few p. 68 which carries his name as author of the account.