NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- A group of A-10 Thunderbolt II’s assigned to the 6th Combat Training Squadron (CTS) and 66th Weapons Squadron (WPS) took to the skies on June 21 to honor 2nd Lt. James Lord with a memorial flyover in Ohio.
Lord was a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot assigned to the 66th Fighter Squadron, which is today’s 66th WPS at the U.S. Air Force Weapons School.
“It’s a huge honor to conduct this flyover for WWII pilot Lt. Lord, and to be able to do this for his family and entire town,” said Lt. Col. James Kappes, 6th CTS director of operations. “He paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country.”
Lord’s plane crashed Aug. 10, 1944, while engaging with the enemy near the coast of Anghione, Corsica.
Lord was on the POW/MIA list for more than 70 years until his remains were found in the summer of 2018.
During World War II, more than 400,000 of 16 million Americans who served the war were classified as MIA and 72,766 still remain missing.
The military’s popular saying “gone, but not forgotten” is not just a phrase, but a mindset military personnel share every day.
Conducting the flyover for Lord’s memorial, members of the military show how the United States honors those missing and fallen by acknowledging their service and sacrifice on behalf of our country and keeping them in our memory.