Lorin David McCleary Jr ★ World War II Gold Star Veteran from Indiana
On May 11, 1944 Second Lieutenant McCleary was declared a casualty of World War II. ★ He served with honor in the United States Army Air Forces. ★ He is remembered by the people of Indiana. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
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Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Lorin David McCleary Jr is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2020-12-23 03:10:18.
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Service Details
This Profile ID | 465028 |
Service ID | O-751745 |
Name | Lorin David McCleary Jr |
From | Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana |
Birth Date | July 29, 1915 |
Casualty Date | May 11, 1944 |
War | World War II |
Service Branch | Army Air Forces |
Rank | Second Lieutenant |
Specialty | Pilot |
Unit/Group | 487th Bomber Group, Heavy, 838th Bomber Squadron |
Casualty Type | KIA - Killed in Action |
Location | Chateaudun, France |
Burial | New Albany National Cemetery, New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana |
Notable Awards |
★ Air Medal
★ Purple Heart |
Remembered |
Lorin David McCleary Jr is buried or memorialized at New Albany National Cemetery, New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana. This is a National American Cemetery administered through the Department of Veteran's Affairs. |
Additional Details
Lorin David McCleary Jr was the son of Lorin David McCleary Sr and Margaret Anna Barbara Courtland. He married Evelyn E Hill in 1939. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps at Patterson Field in Dayton, Ohio on May 1, 1942.
On May 11, 1944 he was on the crew of the B-24H Liberator #42-52444 when they took off from Lavenham, England on a mission to bomb the railroad yards at Chaumont, France. Navigational error resulted in their formation flying over accurate German flak guns guarding the airfield at Chateaudun, France. Their aircraft crashed with only one man, the engineer, surviving.
We identified 9 casualties in our archive related to the #42-52444 incident on May 11, 1944.
◼Lorin D McCleary Jr :: Pilot
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Commendations + Awards
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Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Air Medal
★ Purple Heart
★ United States Aviator Badge Army
★ World War II Victory Medal
★ American Campaign Medal
★ Army Presidential Unit Citation
★ Army Good Conduct Medal
★ Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
★ European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign
Notable Reference Sources
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Indiana Gold Star Veterans Gallery
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Honoring the men and women of
Indiana who gave their all for their country.
May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world.
Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▶ Indiana was home to over 13,306
American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
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▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.
National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
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Honoring our fallen.
Together. Uniting us in meaningful common cause. When we work together to honor our
Gold Star veterans, we heal our nation together.
It's a team effort. Everyone's invited to join as a
Citizen Historian and
Guardian of Honor. -
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