Thomas C. Lafferty – First Lieutenant, United States Air Force

Thomas C. Lafferty

Newfield, New Jersey
Born February 17, 1929
First Lieutenant, U.S. Air Force
Service Number AO1910118
Killed in Action
Died January 31, 1952 in Korea

First Lieutenant Lafferty was a pilot of a F-51D Mustang with the 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 35th Fighter-Interceptor Group.

On January 31, 1952, while making a strafing run on enemy positions, his aircraft was shot down by ground fire. He dove into his target. His name appeared on list entitled “The Transfer of U.S. Korean War POW’s to the Soviet Union” in September 1993. His remains were not recovered.

First Lieutenant Lafferty was awarded the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.

Thomas C. Lafferty, First Lieutenant, United States Air Force
Missing In Action January 31, 1952 in Korea

First Lieutenant Lafferty was a pilot of a F-51D Mustang with the 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 35th Fighter-Interceptor Group. On January 31, 1952, while making a strafing run on enemy positions, his aircraft was shot down by ground fire. He dove into his target. No other information on his loss incidnet is known, or if known, has been made public.

In 1993, “The Transfer of U.S. Korean War POWs to the Soviet Union”, also known as the 77 Page Report, a classified report, was leaked. The report was authored for the Joint Commission Support Branch, Research and Analysis Division, DPMO, Pentagon, and deals with the issue of US POWs from the Korean War who were transferred to the former Soviet Union and never repatriated.

Lieutenant Lafferty’s name appears in Appendix B of the report, “31 Missing USAF F-86 Pilots Whose Loss Indicates Possible Capture.”

First Lieutenant Lafferty was awarded the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Korean War Service Medal.

A memorial headstone will be placed in Arlington National Cemetery on 27 October 2005 in memory of Lieutenant Lafferty.

LAFFERTY, THOMAS C

• 1ST LT   US AIR FORCE
• KOREA
• DATE OF BIRTH: 02/17/1928
• DATE OF DEATH: 01/31/1952
• BURIED AT: SECTION MH  SITE 173
  ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard