354th Pioneer Mustang Fighter Group


Tributes

Laughridge Album

Lt. W. Jay Laughridge, 356th FS.
1st Lt. W. Jay Laughridge arrived at Airstrip A-2, Criqueville-en-Basin Normandy, France as a replacement pilot and assigned to 356th "Red Ass" F.S., June 1944.

A special day at the Lumberton Regional Airshow.
 The photograph shows (l to r) grandson Matt, W. Jay, mom Joyce, and son Digit, pictured in front of Jeff Michael’s P-51D Mustang “Obsession” - taken at the Mid-Atlantic Fly-In & Sport Aviation Convention Airshow in May 2009 in Lumberton Regional Airport, NC.

Jeff was more than gracious and every pilot came over to meet Dad, he was treated like a hero that day. They had Dad sitting in the “hot-box” with the pilots near the planes.

The announcer gave a profile of Dad to the crowd while Jeff performed aerobatics in his P-51 Mustang.
 
It was a very moving experience since Dad rarely spoke about his days in the cockpit. It was an exciting day for Dad and for the rest of us, including my brother, sister and brother-in-law who brought Mom and Dad down from Holly Springs.

Photo with P-51 "Obsession"
The Laughridge family would like thank Steve Elliott, a pilot from Burlington, NC, and whose father was also a P-51 Mustang pilot. One day Steve noticed Dad wearing his P-51 Mustang ball cap with Lt. Moe Stach on it. There was an instant bond between Steve, Dad and Mom. 

Steve was instrumental in making arrangements with air show officials and friends like pilot Jeff Michaels for that special day in May for our Dad, Lt. Moe Stach.   

Mom and Dad got Steve a ball cap just like Dad’s…he is held in very high regard by Mom and all the Laughridge family.

Home  |  History of the 354th Pioneer Mustang Fighter Group during World War II - Valor in Combat

Lt. W. Jay Laughridge, Jr.

A Tribute to Dad - by W. Jay "Digit" Laughridge, III

Lt. W. Jay Laughridge, Jr. closed his eyes, climbed in the cockpit of his beloved P-51, and went "wheels-up" on one last high flight, "to reach out and touch the face of God".

When his wife and the last of his children arrived to tell him he loved him that Wednesday morning, he took a couple of long breaths, a deep sigh, and quietly left us. Dad was tired and ready, I think, to see his buddies again; "Pierre", Laing and Jolly, as he always called them.

1st Lt. W. J. Laughridge and Gen. Weyland.
A newly promoted 1st Lt. W. Jay Laughridge being congratulated by Gen. Otto P. Weyland.

His firm request was to be cremated with his time-worn A-2 flight jacket that still had his squadron's bold Red Ass emblem on the chest. Our hearts were torn to let this image of Dad leave us as well, but with a clear and strong sense of duty, we honored his request. We are sure there was a long line of pilots that recognized him in it as he climbed out of his P-51, the "Pug Ugly Jim", and greeted them on the flight line again. 

W. Jay Laughridge Jr., age 85, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 2nd, 2009 at WakeMed Hospital in Cary, N.C. He had his faithful, loving wife and all his children by his side. Born in 1923 in Forest City, NC to W. Jay Sr. and Belle L. Laughridge, he was preceded in death by both parents.

Jay was a 1st Lt. and fighter pilot in the 9th Air Force, flying P-51’s and P-47’s (354th FG; 356th “Red Ass” Fighter Squadron) during WWII. He piloted 60 combat missions and 70 combat sorties that covered from the Battle of the Bulge to the end of the war in Europe.

Returning from the war he married his sweetheart, Joyce Marie Davis, from Rocky Mount, NC, and studied textiles at NC State before going to work at Rocky Mount Mills. He retired from a lifetime in the textile industry that ended with Johnson & Johnson in Gainesville, GA. He is survived by his dedicated wife of 63 years, Joyce Davis Laughridge of Holly Springs, NC; brother, James Palmer Laughridge of Marietta, GA; son, W.J. “Digit” Laughridge III and wife, Beth, of Campobello, SC; son, James L. Laughridge and wife, Vickie, of Fuquay-Varina, NC; daughter, Terri L. Thompson and husband, Larry, of Holly Springs, NC; Grandchildren(7); Christopher and Matt Laughridge of Campobello; and Meredith L. Cross, Esq. and husband, John, of Apex, NC.; Kalyn, Torin and Tanner Laughridge of Fuquay-Varina; and Chelsea Thompson of Holly Springs.

P-51D Mustang "PUG UGLY Jim" by Robert Wilson

A portrait of Laughridge's P-51D Mustang "PUG UGLY Jim", by USAAF Retired Robert Wilson. Named
for his brother who was fighting in Okinawa as a Marine.

Jay Laughridge was one of the Greatest Generation, and among this nation’s veteran Hero’s, who without hesitation risked everything, so we might enjoy the liberties and freedom we all share today. Known to his P-51 combat flight crew and fellow pilots as “Lt. Moe Stach” (because of his distinctive handle-bar mustache), he was, and always will be, this family’s hero. 

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Credits

A Tribute to W. Jay Laughridge, Jr. by W. Jay "Digit" Laughridge, III