Robert L. Looney was born in 1922 in Tennessee. He was the son of Robert Brin Looney and Bessie L. Raines Looney. He resided in Lancaster County, Nebraska prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on May 17, 1941, prior to the war, in Omaha, Nebraska. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Waiter and also as Single, without dependents. Robert served as a Private and Radio Operator on C-87 #41-23791, 3rd Squadron, 1st Ferry Group, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

C-87 #41-23791 took off, with a crew of 5 and 1 passenger, from Chabua, India on routine ferrying flight to China. They were not seen nor heard from again. The entire crew was lost on April 9, 1943 in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Having actually gone "Missing" on the above date, he was not officially declared by the military as being dead until December 13, 1945.

In 2008 this C-87 was found by MIA Recoveries. They crashed on a mountain side in the Arunachal Pradesh Providence, India for an unknown reason. No remains were found.

Pvt Looney was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is also commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov