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The cowl color of P-47s fresh from the factory was black. They did not require a new color until they were to enter combat. However, Colonel Laughlin was so enamored with his nose art that he asked his crew chief to salvage the cowl off of every…

The staff of the National Museum of the USAF researched the original nose art done by Captain George Rarey. They replicated it, in honor of both Colonel Laughlin and Captain Rarey, understanding the respect and love that Colonel Laughlin had for…

The call sign reads as "B8-A". The "B" is for the 379th Fighter Squadron; the "A" is for the 362nd Fighter Group; and the "8" is the plane number within the squadron. This was Colonel Laughlin's call sign in early 1945.

The Martin B-26 Marauder was flown in every Theater of Operations during the war. Although very accurate in bombing, they were vulnerable to enemy aircraft, requiring bomber escorts from P-47s and P-51s. Also, Colonel Joseph Laughlin managed to…

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 was the chateau located outside the city of Reims that was "acquired" by Colonel Joseph Laughlin for the pilots of the 362nd Fighter Group. They were the nicest accommodations they would have during the war, and no one wanted to leave.

According to the caption on the back, the bottom row, from left to right, is Lt. Col. Paul P. Douglas, Col. Russ Berg, Col. Joseph Laughlin, Col. Edwin S. Chickering, and an unknown commander. On the top, General Otto Weyland is top left and…

The markings on the vertical stabilizer of a plane had two distinctions. The bottom stripe delineated what type of plane it was; the black stripe was on all P-47s in the war. The tip of the fin designated which fighter group the plane belonged to;…