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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…

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…

A pilot from the 362nd Fighter Group poses for a picture with his foot on a bomb. With the caption "Ready in Pairs" on the back, it is also noted that the air strip used to be in No Man's Land during World War I.

Every aircraft in the Army Air Corps had their missions, but none were more diverse than those held by pilots of P-47s. For example, the 362nd Fighter Group had four mission types over the course of their time in service: bomber escort, 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.

A P-47 from the 379th takes off for a mission. Note the closest wheel is already being put away. This picture is captioned as being at Station 159 in Wormingford, Essex, England. The plane is setting out on a bomber escort mission.

It was not uncommon for pilots to execute dual takeoffs when launching for a mission. It ensured the planes would get into the air and into formation quicker than doing it one-by-one. This picture is captioned as being at Station 159 in Wormingford,…

An example of a flying formation of the 362nd fighter group, shown by pilots of the 379th fighter squadron. The lead plane is Colonel Joseph Laughlin. The plaid color on the nose signifies that he is group commander.

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…

This illustration is of a P-47 squadron from the Ninth Air Force in Belgium during the siege of Aachen in October of 1944. This scene was common among all Air Force groups, though how many of them had this groups' sense of humor is unknown. The…