First Lieutenant Loughery was the pilot of a B-26C Invader bomber with the 34th Bomber Squadron, 17th Bomber Wing at Pusan Airfield East (K-9), South Korea. On 23 July 1952, while on a night intruder mission, the aircraft after completing its bombing run became lost. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on 31 December 1953. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Loughery was awarded the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.