Browse Items (43 total)

Although he was known as a very jovial person, Colonel Laughlin had a serious side that he never really showed in front of cameras. Here he looks out with a very severe and serious expression while standing in front of his final P-47 in his flight…

Colonel Laughlin talks and smiles as he poses in front of his first P-47. Although he had already been called Five by Five (for looking five feet tall and five feet wide) the elephant with the four leaf clover was a surprise. Captain George Rarey…

Colonel Laughlin is all smiles as he looks out onto the field full of men and planes. He appears in his flight suit with his uniform underneath, ready to take to the skies. The checkerboard cowl color indicates this was taken towards the end of the…

Two portrait photos of Colonel Laughlin. One is formal, with him facing the camera in his Officer's uniform. The other is informal, with him looking off to one side while wearing his flight suit over his uniform. Both photos show him with the same…

With one leg in the cockpit of his P-47, Colonel Laughlin shakes hands with his commander, Colonel Magoffin, the two of them sharing a laugh amidst the stresses of training for war.

Colonel Laughlin, pictured here with grounds crew members of the 379th Fighter Squadron, knew he could rely on his men to do their jobs. He often credited the success of the group to the men who never got the glory because without their skill and…

Colonel Laughlin was able to meet with the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Forces, General Eisenhower, it seems by chance. There is no indication that this was planned, and it has not been discussed in any sort of detail that has been seen.…

This picture shows Colonel Laughlin and his crew chief, Sgt. Chodor, talking before Laughlin prepped for flight. There had to be a lot of trust between a pilot and his crew chief; not only were they responsible for the overall maintenance of the…

The XIX Tactical Air Command (TAC) were very effective in their missions to bomb and disrupt the German lines, especially the P-47s in the 362nd Fighter Group. Upon the surrender of German troops at the Beaugency Bridge in France, officers handed…

When they were not training, flying missions, sleeping, or eating, pilots needed downtime to unwind. Captain George Rarey did so by sketching. In this illustration, Captain Rarey catches an easy-going face on then-Major Laughlin as members of the…