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name
COOKE, Harold Joseph - Date of
birth
5 July 1921 -
Age
21 - Place of
birth
Rowan County, North Carolina -
Hometown
Concord, Cabarrus County, North Carolina
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
34430596 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Tail Gunner -
Unit
545th Bombardment Squadron,
384th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
22 June 1943 - Place of
death
Wilhelminadorp, the Netherlands
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 44 | 32 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Otto L. Cooke (father)
Sallie L. (Sides) Cooke (mother)
Cathalen Cooke (sister)
Lee O. Cooke (brother)
Wilburn F. Cooke (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-30076 -
Data
Type: B-17F
Destination: Antwerp, Belgium
Mission: Bombing of the former Ford and General Motors plant
MACR: 2165
More information
While in high school, Harold Cooke received the American Legion Medal for the Most Outstanding Boy.He was a clerk before he enlisted at Camp Croft, North Carolina on 8 September 1942.
This was the first loss for the 384th Bomber Group. The airplane was 9,000 feet below the formation when it was being attacked by at least eight Fw-190 fighters off the coast of Belgium. Three engines seemed to be on fire. The plane seemed to explode in midair.
Four crew members were killed, and six men were taken prisoner.
The statements about the circumstances of his death are contradictory according to the MACR. According to one statement, he was last seen, lying on the floor of the plane. He had hesitated to jump before the plane blew up. Another statement says he couldn't get the tail door or the door in the waist open, and he was killed instantly when the plane hit the ground. Yet another statement says his parachute failed to open. His maimed body was identified by a letter in his pocket.
He was first buried at the Noorder Cemetery in Vlissingen, the Netherlands.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.384thbombgroup.com, www.ancestry.com - Thomas Snavely Family Tree / A History of Cabarrus County in the Wars, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record
Photo source: Guy Maes, Michel Beckers, Central High School Yearbook 1941, Menno Polderman