Thomas P. Louglin in this image is saying goodbye to his family before heading off to fight in Europe. His poor child is clearly saddened by the fact that his dad is going far away to fight in a foreign war. Luckily, Private Loughlin returned to the United States after serving from October 26th, 1917 to March 26th, 1919, only having been slightly wounded on September 12th, 1918.
The young boy in the photo is Thomas P. Loughlin Jr. Little Thomas was 10 years old when this photo was taken. He would end up serving briefly in his own war, during World War II. Well, actually … read below.
Private T. P. Loughlin of the 69th Regiment, New York National Guard, (165th Infantry) bidding his family farewell. International Film Service., 1917
Source: U.S. National Archives
Below is his military service card that we dug up on Ancestry.com.
Thomas P. Louglin’s military service card
This is Thomas Jr.’s less honorable military service card. As you can see, he registered just a few weeks before the end of the war and ended up being dropped for “failure to attend drills”.
Thomas P. Loughlin Jr.’s military service card
