10 May, 2010

Army Cpl. Richard Loring laid to rest in Carver Photos Tim Correira/The Enterprise Barbara Lowe and her sister, Kathy Beisiegel, the two oldest living relatives of Cpl. Richard Loring, receive the flag from the coffin during memorial services for their great-uncle in Carver on Monday. Giving the flag to them is Air Force National Guard Brigadier General L. Scott Rice. Tim Correira/The Enterprise Members of the Massachusetts Army National Guard Honor Guard carry the coffin during memorial services for Army Cpl. Richard Loring at Central Cemetery in Carver on Monday. Tim Correira/The Enterprise The American flag lays draped over the coffin of Army Cpl. Richard Loring at United Parish of Carver church on Monday. Tim Correira/The Enterprise Eileen Maki, Carver's town historian, attends the memorial service for Army Cpl. Richard Loring at United Parish of Carver church on Monday. Tim Correira/The Enterprise Members of the Massachusetts Army National Guard Honor Guard fold a flag over the coffin of Army Cpl. Richard Loring during burial services at Central Cemetery in Carver on Monday. Loring’s remains were returned home after 66 years. Tim Correira/The Enterprise Great-niece Barbara Lowe hangs her head as she sits near the coffin during memorial services for Army Cpl. Richard Loring at Central Cemetery in Carver on Monday. Tim Correira/The Enterprise Members of the Massachusetts Army National Guard Honor Guard carry the coffin of Army Cpl. Richard Loring during memorial services at the United Parish of Carver church on Monday. Tim Correira/The Enterprise The Rev. Bruce Bardon gives the eulogy during memorial services at the United Parish of Carver church on Monday. The service was for Army Cpl. Richard Loring. Tim Correira/The Enterprise Members of the Patriot Guard Riders are reflected in the hearse carrying the coffin of Army Cpl. Richard Loring on Monday. Tim Correira/The Enterprise Members of the Patriot Guard Riders carry flags as they head to the cemetery during memorial services for Army Cpl. Richard Loring in Carver on Monday. Tim Correira/The Enterprise Kailin Foley of Carver watches with her two children, 2-year-old Eilis and 4-year-old Seamus, as members of the Massachusetts Army National Guard Honor Guard carry the coffin of Army Cpl. Richard A Loring during services on Monday. Tim Correira/The Enterprise Members of the Patriot Guard Riders hold flags during services for Army Cpl. Richard Loring at the United Parish of Carver church on Monday. Loring’s remains were returned home for burial 66 years after he went missing during World War II. Tim Correira/The Enterprise Great-nephew Dan Lowe gives the eulogy during memorial services for Army Cpl. Richard Loring at the United Parish of Carver church on Monday. Tim Correira/The Enterprise Members of the Massachusetts Army National Guard Honor Guard carry the coffin from the church as members of the Patriot Guard Riders salute during memorial services for Army Cpl. Richard Loring at the United Parish of Carver church on Monday. Tim Correira/The Enterprise Photos and flowers adorn the coffin during memorial services for Army Cpl. Richard Loring at the United Parish of Carver church on Monday. Tim Correira/The Enterprise The hearse carrying Army Cpl. Richard Loring is saluted on its way to Carver's Central Cemetery on Monday. More Photos Related Galleries Army Cpl. Richard Loring laid to rest in Carver By Maureen Boyle Enterprise Staff Writer Posted May 11, 2010 @ 02:32 AM Last update May 11, 2010 @ 08:05 AM CARVER — As the flag-draped casket passed, 84-year-old Lawrence Gardner stood in silent salute to honor a man he never knew. He was there, in the rear of the United Parish of Carver church, to pay tribute to Army Cpl. Richard Loring who died in a plane crash 66 years ago during World War II and whose remains were finally recovered and brought home for burial. Ronald Everette of Middleboro stepped out of the church somberly, thinking of his U.S. Marine father who survived World War II and of those he knew who survived Vietnam. Bea Kingsbury of Carver was at the Central Cemetery gravesite, as taps were played, as two F15 jets flew over, wiping away a tear. The 91-year-old woman stood as the American flag was tightly folded then handed to a Loring relative, remembering a husband who had gone to war and come back. The soldier’s relatives, born years after his death, walked from the cemetery after the military funeral, quietly talking about the man they never met whose return touched them in ways they never expected. “It’s a very emotional experience,” said Kathryn Beisiegel of Thornton, N.H., Loring’s great-niece. “I was very surprised.” Her eldest sister, Barbara Lowe, of Brewster, said it was also very touching to see the number of people in town who came out to honor Loring. More than 100 people – including Gov. Deval Patrick and a contingent of military dignitaries – gathered at the church Monday as Loring’s remains, recovered on a mountainside in Corsica years after World War II ended, were laid to rest. The 31-year-old Loring, whose remains were finally identified through DNA, was buried 66 years to the day of his death. He joined the Army at age 29. “Though he was lost, he is now found and his remains are returned home,” said the Rev. Bruce Bardon, pastor of the church. Loring, who was born in Brockton in 1913 and raised in Carver, was presumed dead when the B-25C aircraft he and four others were in crashed into Mount Cagna in Ciannuccio near Sartene, Corsica, on May 10, 1944. The wreckage was later found but it took decades to recover and later identify the remains. State Trooper Doug Loring, a distant cousin, led the motorcycle escort Friday to Carver from Logan Airport after Loring’s remains were flown to Massachusetts. He learned of the search – and services – through Enterprise newspaper reports – and said he now is able to fill out key blocks in his family tree. Dan Lowe, Loring’s great-nephew, said he grew up hearing stories from his mother about her favorite uncle who died in the war. “The story was just a footnote in my memory,” he said. But it was only now, with Loring’s remains returned to Massachusetts, that he knows a little bit more about the man his mother talked about. The pastor said Loring touched many people in death – even though he knew none of them in life. “Nobody knew him here,” Bardon said. “Most of the people weren’t born when he died. Loring, however, on the day of his burial, became a symbol to many at the service of all those who have served in war and survived – and those who served and died. It was why Mary Sipola of Carver attended the services, to honor her husband who served in Vietnam and died three years ago. He is buried a few feet from Loring’s grave. It was why 11 members of the Patriot Guard Riders stood at attention outside the church holding American flags. It was why a mother and father brought their young children to the church. “Remember the man we have just gotten to know,” Bardon told those who gathered for the services. Loring was a man with hopes and dreams unrealized, he said. “Richard was not a statistic,” he said.

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