Citation for award of the Silver Star to Lt William Cook, August 1944
I found a citation among my father's military records. The first part is the citation for a William Cook who was a 1st Lt in my father's squadron. If I read everthing correctly, these are the bare details of what he did:
- Navigated several hundred miles over unbroken jungle (monotonus landscape with no landmarks & no GPS to navigate by; map & compass only) in bad weather (storms? and poor visibility) to find his target.
- Succesfully bombed his target, dropping two spans of a bridge.
- Due to inattention, heavily damaged expensive US Army property.
- Flew his damaged aircraft - requiring great physical strength & stamina on the flight controls of an aircraft trying to fall out of the sky plus an even greater skill in navigation - 400 miles to recover it at an airbase with which he was not familiar. The return flight was probably 2.5- 3 hours as his flight speed would be considerably reduced. Imagine driving 400 miles on a flat tire at 75 mph in a stiff cross wind.
- Saved the lives of his crew, some of whom were wounded.
- You can guess the rest.
It would be interesting to know all the details.
Below is the verbatim rendering of Lt. Cook's citation. The citation then went on in section 2. to award a number of men (including dad) the Air Medal. Only section 1. for Lt. Cooks Silver Star is recorded here.
GENERAL ORDERS) HEADQUARTERS, TENTH AIR FORCE,
: U.S. ARMY,
NUMBER 131) A. P. O. 487, 28 August 1944.
1. Pursuant to the authority contained in Army Regulations 600-45, War Department, Washington, D.C., 22 September 1943, the Silver Star is hereby awarded to First Lieutenant WILLIAM E. COOK. 0734198, Air Corps, of the *** [it was the 434th Bomb Squadron, a B25 outfit, but this was omitted from the citation for wartime security reasons] Bombardment Squadron (M), for gallantry in action in an attack against the heavily defended Sittang Bridge, most important link in all the enemy transportation system in Burma and Thailand. Despite adverse weather and poor visibility, Lieutenant COOK succeeded in locating the target. Then, in the face of heavy enemy anti-aircraft fire, Lieutenant COOK pressed home his attack with great determination. Skimming over the bridge at minimum altitude he found the target in his sights. Holding tenaciously by dint of great flying skill, he released his bombs into the bridge. Two spans were completely destroyed. Because of his complete concentration on sighting and releasing the bombs he failed to see a Pagoda in his flight path until too late to completely avoid it. The impact tore off four feet of the left wing. With this damage, with the airplane's flying characteristics totally altered, with the airplane shot-up and some of the crew personnel wounded, Lieutenant COOK began the long four hundred mile trip back to the nearest friendly territory. The airplane would fly only in a constant fifteen degree bank and rigid control had to be maintained to prevent it from falling off into a spin. In this manner, Lieutenant COOK piloted the airplane to a forward friendly airdrome, and succeeded in landing it safely. The gallant and courageous conduct evidenced by Lieutenant COOK in the face of enemy action reflects the highest credit on the military forces of the United States. (Posthumous). Next of kin: Mr. Arthur Lynn Cook (father), Box 192, RFD #1, Fullerton, California.
