Loye James Lauraine, Jr. was born at Gonzales, Gonzales County, Texas on March 17, 1919. His Army buddies called him Jack. He was the oldest of three children of Dr (Lt Col) Loye James 'Giggy' Lauraine Sr (5 Aug 1894 – 13 May 1964), who was born at Beeville, Bee County, Texas; and Hallie Belle (Cox) Lauraine (25 Mar 1896 – 24 Apr 1992), who was born at Karnes City, Karnes County, Texas. His siblings were Dr Eugene Lauraine (called Eugene or 'Bub') (29 Nov 1920 – 29 Aug 1995) and Eva Belle (Lauraine) Wilson (18 Jul 1924 – 28 Feb 2008).

Loye Lauraine Sr served in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps during World War I. He registered for the World War I draft on May 25, 1917, and enlisted in the U.S. Army on December 21, 1917, while still a veterinary student. He graduated from Kansas City Veterinary College about April 1918, and returned to Gonzales, Texas, where he married Hallie Belle Cox on April 25, 1918. On August 14, 1918, he reported for duty with Veterinary Company Number 1 at Camp Greenleaf, Georgia. He also served during World War II. He moved his family to Rapides Parish, Louisiana, where he was stationed for a time before he deployed to China as a U.S. Army veterinarian. In 1943 the family home was at 1507 Jefferson Highway, Pineville, Rapides Parish, Louisiana. Hallie Lauraine returned to Gonzales, Texas after the men of the family went to war. He registered for the draft at Waco, McLennan County, Texas on October 16, 1940. He was 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighed 150 pounds, and had brown eyes and brown hair. At that time he was employed by F. M. Compton and Son Funeral Directors in Waco. He met Evelyn Frances 'Fran' McKinney (20 Jan 1919 – 9 Feb 2005) of Mount Calm, Texas when she worked as a music teacher in the Gonzalez (Texas) Independent School District. They married in 1941. In 1942 he and his wife Frances lived in Austin, Texas, where he was funeral director at Wilke-Manor Funeral Home.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army at San Antonio, Texas on February 7, 1942, and entered Army Air Forces pilot training in Class 43-G. His wife traveled with him to several States during his training. He completed the course at Williams Field in Chandler, Arizona, where he received his wings and commission as a Second Lieutenant on July 28, 1943. His father attended the graduation and pinned on his wings. He went on to four-engine heavy bomber transition training in the B-24 'Liberator' bomber, in order to qualify as pilot in command of that aircraft type. He was then assigned a crew.

The Lauraine crew was assigned to the 837th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico, where they completed B-24 crew training, and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. They flew B-24H 42-52425 'The Tweachewous Wabbit' from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Lavenham, England via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived in England by mid-April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.

Lt Lauraine flew thirty operational missions during his first combat tour. During that time (in July 1944) the 487th Bomb Group transitioned from the B-24 to the B-17 'Flying Fortress'. He returned to the United States on leave in late August 1944, and voluntarily returned to Lavenham for a second combat tour in November 1944. On November 25, 1944, the 487th Bomb Group dispatched three squadrons of B-17s to bomb the large I. G. Farben synthetic oil refinery at Leuna near Merseburg, Germany. Here is Lt Lauraine's crew roster on that day:

• Lauraine Jr, Loye J – 1/Lt – Pilot – KIA
• Gee, William C – 2/Lt – Copilot – Safe
• Haffner, Thomas – 1/Lt – Navigator – Safe
• Moderski, Jerome D – 1/Lt – Bombardier – Safe
• Pointon, Floyd R – Sgt – Engineer – Safe
• Fawcett, George E – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – Safe
• Lucian, John P – S/Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – Safe
• Oglesby, Donald H – Sgt – Waist Gunner – Safe
• Rucker, Kenneth U – S/Sgt – Tail Gunner – Safe

Lt Lauraine and his crew flew B-17G 42-97997 'Honorable Patches' on this mission. It was his 34th mission. The aircraft sustained severe flak damage on return from the mission, and some control cables were shot away. Lt Lauraine had difficulty controlling the aircraft, but he and the copilot were able to pilot it across the English Channel. He was unable to land, and ordered the crew to bail out after making landfall north of Ipswich, England. As he prepared to bail out, the aircraft began diving toward Army Air Forces Station 153, the base of the 390th Bomb Group near Parham, about three miles southeast of Framlingham, England. He returned to the controls and was able to prevent the B-17 from crashing on the base, but the aircraft then stalled and crashed about two miles east of the base on Arthur Latter's farm. Lt Lauraine was unable to bail out and died in the crash. The aircraft was completely destroyed, and his remains were found in the wreckage.

Lt Lauraine was buried at Cambridge American Cemetery on November 28, 1944. His remains were returned to the United States and reinterred in the family plot at Gonzales Masonic Cemetery, Gonzales, Texas on July 18, 1948.

Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com