Lt. Col. Robert Lory Collection

DONOR:

Robert Lory; 2007

SIZE:

0.25 cu ft

SCOPE & CONTENT:

World War II photos, mission description, article on Lt. Col. Robert Lory.

BIOGRAPHY:

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Robert “Bob” Charles Lory was born on July 21, 1922, in Illinois. A veteran of World War II, Lt. Col. Lory acted as an aircrew bombardier and turret gunner for 30 combat missions and 200 combat hours before D-Day in 1944. He served in the Eighth Air Force and in the Air Force Reserve for forty years before retiring in 1982, having been awarded five Air medals, Army Air Corps Campaign and service medals, and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Lt. Col. Lory moved to Las Cruces a decade after his retirement from the U.S. Airforce, and became an active part of the community. He was a member of the Elks Club, the Reserve Officers Association, the local United Veterans Council, and the First Presbyterian Church.

A veteran’s history interview of Lt. Col. Robert Lory conducted in 2007 at IHSF is available at IHSF and through the Library of Congress Veterans History Project.

Lt. Col. Lory passed in Las Cruces, NM, on April 18, 2013.