Harold Francis Cooke

Military

Harold Cooke had finished one year in college when he enlisted in the Air Corps in August 1942. Trained as a radio operator/gunner, he was sent overseas and assigned to the 92nd Bomb Group / 407th Bomb Squadron in England. He was RO/G on B-17 #42-30726 when it was shot down on the 14 October 1943 mission to Schweinfurt. Prisoner of War (POW). Liberated from Stalag Luft 1 in Germany, he was sent back home and honorably discharged from the US Army Air Forces on 10 October 1945.

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 92nd Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18040599 and O2044434
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 32513804
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 38124471
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Gunner / Bombardier
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 33282719
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner / Flight Engineer
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: French
  • Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 10601250
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: waist gunner

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Dunmore, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States 2 January 1921 the son of Harry P. and Lydia Cooke

Enlisted

Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, United States 8 August 1942

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Barth, Germany 14 October 1943 Immediately captured after landing in parachute near Kembach, Germany. Interned at Stalag Luft 1, Barth, Germany - NARA WWII POW records: returned to Military Control 12 July 1945.

Died

20 November 1960
Dunmore, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States

Buried

Cathedral Cemetery, Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 846
US 1940 Census
NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 846 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database