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Flags half-staff to honor Massachusetts airman killed during World War II
BOSTON (WWLP) – Governor Maura Healey has ordered all U.S. and Massachusetts flags to be lowered to half-staff on Saturday.
The order was issued to honor Staff Sergeant Loring E. Lord of Somerville, who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces 642d Bombardment Squadron, 409th Bombardment Group, 9th Bombardment Division, 9th Air Force, during World War II. Lord was a gunner aboard an A-26B 'Invader', when his aircraft was hit by heavy anti-aircraft fire during a bombardment mission to Germany in March 1945.
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Those aboard the aircraft were buried in a cemetery in Germany. The remains were later discovered in 2018 and taken to a laboratory for analysis and identification. Lord's remains were identified in September 2024, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
Loring was born in Somerville in 1916 and enlisted in the Army Air Forces during World War II. His remains were returned to Massachusetts on May 29th. Funeral services will be held on Saturday at Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett.
American flags and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts flags are ordered to be lowered to half-staff at all state buildings from sunrise until sunset on Saturday in his honor.
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