Browse Items (102 total)

These miniature medals represent the hardwork, determination, bravery, and leadership that Colonel Laughlin displayed throughout his 30 year military career. The medals he earned in World War II were (in order of importance): the Distinguished…

Pilots and grounds crew were encouraged to take their minds off of the war by their commander, Colonel Joseph Laughlin. He did not want his pilots to get battle fatigue or his grounds crew to suffer exhaustion so he made sure they had something else…

This map shows where and how D-Day was carried out by Allied forces. It also shows the front line position right before General Patton broke through the line with his Third Army. Major successes on the ground were due in large part to their air…

P-47s from the 379th are lined up for takeoff. Final checks are being performed, and they are waiting to be given the go ahead. This was taken at the base outside Rennes, France.

This article, from a newspaper in Ohio, tells the story of a local pilot getting shot down in the Battle of Bastogne, but insisting on getting back to base as he was expecting to hear news that he was a father. This airman, 1st Lt. Duane E. Oyster,…

Accounts were kept of what pilots destroyed in combat. To tout those successes, pilots would have the record painted on their planes, with tallies next to each symbol for tanks, trucks, and locomotives. The Nazi flags represented downed enemy…

As the fighters and bombers of the Ninth Air Force did their jobs, ground troops would have to clean up after them. Cleaning out rubble with bulldozers and shovels was common when Allied Forces moved into the cities that had been occupied by Germans…

After D-Day, engineers from the Ninth Air Force were tasked with setting up temporary runways in France for the fighters, light bombers, and medium bombers to be able to support the First Army. Steel planks, which were used elsewhere in the war, were…

After D-Day, and in preparation for the breakout into France, engineers from the Ninth Air Force needed to set up temporary runways for the fighters, light bombers, and medium bombers to be able to support the First Army. Hessian strips were a…

Grounds crews were responsible for getting extra fuel tanks loaded on the planes if the missions called for it, and they gave the aircraft a once over before the pilot came out to do the same. Ordnance men would have to prep bombs before loading them…