Almost Forgotten: John M. Ring WWII F6F Hellcat Pilot

John Matthew “Lonnie” Ring

John Matthew Ring, know as Lonnie to his friends, served in the U.S. Navy as a Fighter Pilot in the South Pacific durring WWII. On January 11, 1944 Lonnie was assigned to Fighting Squadron VF-35 for “active duty involving flying”. According to the VF-35 War Diary, VF-35 was “attached to the USS Chenango (CVE-28)” . Lonnie served aboard the escort carrier USS Chenango (CVE-28) as part of VF-35 between January 11 and April 27, 1944. On April 27, 1944 Lonnie reported to Fleet Air Command, South Pacific, presumably at Guadalcanal or Espiritu Santo. Between May 2 and May 13, 1944 Lonnie completed a total of 16 training flights in various aircraft. On October 1, 1944, Lonnie was detached from CASU 42 and reported on board the USS Steamer Bay (CVE 87) where he served until being transferred to the USS Langley (CVL-27)  where he served with Fighting Squadron 44 (VF-44).

On October 25, 1944 Lonnie was flying his second mission of the day when his plane was hit by heavy anti-aircraft fire and John Matthew "Lonnie" Ring was killed in action durring the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Lonnie’s story was researched and shared by his nephew Terry Regan.

To read Almost Forgotten by Terry Regan please click on the image below.

Click on image above to read Almost Forgotten by Terry Regan