JUNE 23, 2025 – Just days after Memorial Day, as the nation honors those who gave their lives in service, 2nd Lt. Katherine Hendl carried out a deeply personal mission: escorting the remains of her great-great-uncle, Staff Sgt. Loring E. Lord, a U.S. Army Air Forces gunner killed in action during World War II, home to Massachusetts — nearly 80 years after he was declared missing in action.
Hendl, a newly commissioned officer assigned to Space Training and Readiness Command, is currently attending officer training school through the 319th Combat Training Squadron at Peterson Space Force Base. OTC is the first phase of STARCOM’s pipeline for training new Space Force officers. The course builds foundational skills in space, cyber and intel operations. But this month, she took on a different kind of responsibility — one that ties her family’s past to her own future of military service.
“This isn’t something I ever imagined doing right out of training,” she said. “But being able to bring him home makes my service feel deeply personal.”
As STARCOM continues to shape the next generation of Space Force warfighters, Hendl’s participation in this tribute reflects the command’s broader commitment to cultivating Guardians who embody the values of service, sacrifice, and legacy.
Lord, a Boston native, enlisted in 1942 after leaving a civilian job at Pratt & Whitney. He trained as a mechanic gunner and deployed to Europe with the 642nd Bombardment Squadron, 409th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force. According to records maintained by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Lord flew more than 30 combat missions prior to March 21, 1945, when his aircraft was shot down during a bombing run over Germany.
The mission was part of a broader allied effort to disrupt German communication lines ahead of the planned Rhine River crossing, according to DPAA historical analysis. Witness accounts documented in the Missing Air Crew Report describe intense, accurate flak over the target area. Lord’s A-26B Invader was hit directly and seen falling away from formation. No parachutes were observed.
He was listed as missing in action. His two fellow crew members’ remains were recovered and identified in 1947, but Lord’s remains were not. In 1949, the U.S. Army officially declared him non-recoverable.
For his family, the loss left decades of unanswered questions.
“There was just no way to know what had happened,” said Amy Hendl, Katherine’s mother. “Back then, families waited weeks or months for any news — if they got it at all. My mother remembers her aunt going from hospital to hospital in Washington, D.C., hoping to find him. They didn’t know if he was missing, captured or wounded. It was that desperate to find answers.”
Lord was 28 years old when he was killed in action. He was engaged to be married, and throughout the war, he wrote regularly to his fiancée and family. Many of those letters have been preserved, offering a deeply personal glimpse into his life and final months. Today, 2nd Lt. Hendl’s grandmother — now 89 years old — is the last living relative who knew him.
Amy said the uncertainty became part of their family’s identity. “I grew up hearing about Uncle Loring. His picture was always on the shelf at my grandmother’s and great aunt’s home. The pain of not knowing, of having no closure, was something they both carried all their lives. Now, 80 years later, we finally have an answer. And we finally get to bring him home.”
In 2014, a German researcher contacted the DPAA with new information about a likely crash site near Gross Reken. Using wartime aerial imagery and local witness accounts, DPAA teams conducted excavations in 2018 and 2019. Among the findings were structural aircraft components, personal effects and a machine gun confirmed to match Lord’s aircraft. DNA analysis and forensic examination ultimately identified the remains as his. The identification was formally announced in 2024.
In April, Amy and her husband traveled to Germany to attend a ceremony hosted by the towns of Gross Reken and Coesfeld — communities that witnessed the downing of two U.S. aircraft during the same 1945 mission. Six Airmen were killed in total. The local communities unveiled a memorial plaque and held a joint remembrance for the American crews.
“It was incredibly moving,” Amy said. “We were the only family there representing Lord’s crew. The townspeople treated it with such respect. It brought peace to something our family lived with for a long time.”
Lord is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Belgium. A rosette has been placed beside his name to signify that he has been accounted for.
“For so long, he was just listed as missing,” Amy added. “Now we know. Now we can bring him home.”
Lord’s remains were returned to Boston on May 29 and his final interment with full military honors was held on June 7. Hendl accompanied him to his final resting place.
“Escorting him home was a humbling and inspiring experience,” Hendl said. “The amount of care everyone put into making sure this hero was welcomed home with the highest honors was incredible. We had the support of police, firefighters, and citizens along the entire journey. Flying with him to Boston, riding in the hearse to the funeral home, then finally driving in the procession to the cemetery — it made me reflect on the true meaning of his sacrifice and added even more weight to my own service.”
Hendl commissioned into the Space Force in 2024 after graduating from Boston University with a degree in chemistry. She was selected through the Air Force ROTC program and is particularly interested in serving in acquisitions or space operations roles. Though early in her career, she said the experience of ROTC and her academic background gave her confidence to pursue the Space Force path.
“He was part of the Army Air Forces. That became the Air Force, and now we have the Space Force,” she said. “It’s changed, but it’s all one legacy.”
Hendl begins her career at STARCOM as part of the Space Force’s newest generation of officers, entering service with a clear sense of where she comes from. Her uncle’s story — carried forward through her family for generations — is finally closed. As she steps forward on her own path, she does so not only as a Guardian in training, but as a member of a family that has always answered the call to serve.
By Brandon Kalloo Sanes
Space Training and Readiness Command