Johnnie Baxter Loafman was born on June 17, 1919, in Oklahoma. He was the son of Perry Albin Loafman and Ethel Bell Bradley Loafman.

Johnnie served in the 873rd Bomber Squadron, 498th Bomber Group, as a Staff Sergeant and Left Waist Gunner on the B-29 #44-61666 'Sweet Sixteen' during World War II.

On September 4, 1945, the crew was dropping relief supplies to the POW camp in Kawaminami Kogyo Koyagijima Shipyard in Koyagi Village, Nishisonogi District, Nagasaki Prefecture (now Koyagi Town, Nagasaki City ). However, due to an unknown circumstance, they crashed into Mount Sashiki on the opposite shore of Koyagi Island, killing thirteen members of the crew (including SSgt Loafman). Only one survived. The bodies of those who were killed were cremated in the pow camp by the prisoners of war and enshrined in the Oura Catholic Church. SSgt Loafman has a cenotaph in the Manila American Cemetery, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines.