John Alfred “Jack” Lofland was born in 1913 in New York. He resided in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on September 4, 1941, prior to the war, at Jacksonville Army Air Force Base, Florida. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Chemical Engineer and also as Single, without dependents. John served as a First Lieutenant and Pilot on C-87 #43-30556, India-China Wing, Air Transport Command, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

C-87 #43-30556 took off, with a crew of 4, on a cargo mission from Tezpur, India to Kunming, China. After takeoff this C-87 was not heard from nor seen again. They apparently crashed somewhere between Tezpur and Kunming. The entire crew was lost. John was declared "Missing In Action" on this mission during the war. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.

John was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov