 By December, he had flown 55 combat missions.He had been awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions under fire on June 12, 1944 that destroyed ten enemy armored vehicles in the area of Coutances, France while on a dive-bombing mission.On December 24, 1944, Loring was flying a mission over Belgium when his P-47 was hit by flak artillery as he strafed ground targets.