October 28, 1943: 2nd Lt. Gil Cook, 436th Bomb Squadron

Today, it has been 77 years since my grandmother's cousin, Gil Cook, died over Burma. I have written about Gil and this family tragedy many times, but in honor of this sad anniversary, am sharing a summary of Gil's life and service. 

Lawrence Gilbert Cook, known as “Gil,” was born in Los Angeles on July 24, 1918. He was the son of Magdalene Barrett and Lawrence Cook, who divorced when Gil was a small child. Gil was just a few weeks older than my grandmother, LaVerne Rutherfurd, who was born in Los Angeles on August 10, 1918, and he was the closest thing to a sibling that she had. In their early years, they lived down the street from each other and spent a lot of time together.

(L-R): LaVerne Rutherfurd, Gil Cook, and Gil's mother, Magdalene Barrett

(L) LaVerne Rutherfurd and (R) Gil Cook

Gil Cook as a child

                                

Magdalene Barrett remarried Bob Rutherfurd and in 1928, Gil’s sister Patricia Mary “Patty” Rutherfurd was born. The family lived together in Los Angeles, then moved south to San Pedro, Wilmington and Long Beach.

On February 27, 1941, at the age of 22, Gil enlisted in the United States Army. While America had not yet entered World War II, war was certainly on the horizon. On his enlistment paperwork, Gil, a high school graduate, listed his occupation as “Frameman, Telephone and Telegraph.” Much of the family worked in the telephone business. His mother had been a telephone operator, as had his aunt Julia Barrett Rutherfurd. Julia and her husband George Rutherfurd (half brother of Gil’s stepfather Bob) had met while working at Pacific Telephone and Telegraph in Los Angeles.

Gil enlisted as a private and later became a second lieutenant. He was assigned to the Army Air Corps, serving in the 436th Bombardment Squadron. Between 1941 and 1943, Gil underwent training at several different locations, including Vancouver, Washington, Douglas, Arizona, and finally Topeka, Kansas. Throughout his training, Gil wrote letters home to his mother, sharing stories about his experiences and asking after family members and friends. 

Gil was also writing to his girlfriend, Ethel Hamel, the young woman he'd been dating before leaving for service. Ethel Hamel was the youngest daughter of Eugene Hamel and Rose Huot of Alberta, Canada. The Hamel family had a second home in Long Beach, where Gil Cook lived, and eventually moved there full time after the death of Ethel's father. The story of how Gil and Ethel met has not survived the years, but they quickly grew close and the relationship became serious. 

In letters sent to his mother, Gil mentioned that he had been saving money for a ring. Gil and Ethel became engaged in 1943. He may have been headed for war, but Gil was planning for a life with the woman he loved.

Gil Cook and Ethel Hamel

Gil Cook and Ethel Hamel

In Topeka, Gil was assigned to a plane and a crew. There were nine young men, including Gil, who made up this B-24 Liberator crew. In training, they grew close. Gil became especially good friends with Joe Zofco, who was the son of Czech immigrants from Ohio. 

Gil Cook and Joe Zofco

                                                                    

The B-24 crew was led by 1st Lieutenant James M. Reese, a University of Virginia graduate, and the fiance of Jane Luce of Kansas City. The other men assigned to the crew were Charles L. Davis, Jr., 2nd Lieutenant (from North Carolina), Joseph A. Zofco, 2nd Lieutenant (from Ohio), Edward J. Perrin, T/Sgt (from New York), Charles P. Chouteau, Private (from Oklahoma), William Jerabek, S/Sgt (from Minnesota), Donald P. Morris, S/Sgt (from Massachusetts), John P. Wood, T/Sgt (from Texas).

The four photos above were taken of Gil Cook during training

With training complete, the crew traveled from Kansas to India to join their squadron in the China Burma India Theater. Gil kept a journal during the weeks it took to fly to India. He had never been out of the United States prior to this journey halfway around the world. 

April 23, 1943: Topeka to Morrison Field, West Palm Beach, Florida
April 25, 1943: Florida to Trinidad
April 28, 1943: Trinidad to Belem, Brazil
May 5, 1943: Belem to Ascension Island, in the Atlantic Ocean
May 9, 1943: Ascension Island to Accra, Ghana
May 10, 1943: Accra to Kano, Nigeria

Gil Cook and Joe Zofco in Africa

              Donald Morris, James Reese, Edward Perrin                                            In Africa

                                                        Charles Davis, Donald Morris, John Wood

Gil's journal ends in Nigeria, but not long after this, he and his crew arrived in India and joined the 436th Bombardment Squadron assembled there. 

For the balance of the war, [the 436th Bombardment Squadron] carried out long distance heavy bomb raids over Japanese targets primarily in Burma, Thailand and Indochina; a theater with little news coverage, see China Burma India Theater; although also attacked Japanese targets in Southeastern China attacking airfields, fuel and supply dumps, locomotive works, railways, bridges, docks, warehouses, shipping, and troop concentrations in Burma and struck oil refineries in Thailand, power plants in China and enemy shipping in the Andaman Sea.¹

    (L-R:) James M. Reese, William Jerabek, Edward M. Pyle, 

Joseph A. Zofco (in front), Donald P. Morris, John P. Wood, Gil Cook

    Gil Cook is top left, Pyle beside him in white, then Jerabek, 

         Wood, Davis and Reese. Chouteau is on the stump, then 

Morris, Zofco and Perrin. Gil described this photo as being the 

only one of "the ten of us," but Pyle was assigned to

another crew and did not die with the rest of the men.

On September 18, 1943, Gil wrote a letter to his uncle saying that there hadn't been much flying time due to monsoon season, but that the weather was improving and he'd been on five missions in seven days, completing eleven runs total since his arrival.

This was included in a stack of paperwork related to Gil Cook 
sent to me by the National Archives

On October 25, 1943, Gil wrote his last letters home. In a letter to his mother, he said that he was looking forward to an expected trip home in 1944 and asked her to send some gramophone needles so he could listen to music. In a letter to his fiancee, Ethel, he said how much he missed her and talked about their future children.

What happened on October 28, 1943

On October 28, 1943, 25-year old Gil Cook's plane went down over Burma in a friendly fire incident. There were nine crew members on board. There were no survivors.

On November 3, 1943, Gil's mother, Magdalene Barrett Rutherfurd, received a telegram reporting him missing in action.

On November 7, 1943, witnesses to the plane's accident were deposed by the Army. Their statements are the clearest indication we have of exactly what happened to Gil and his crew. Unfortunately, it would take months for these details to be revealed to the airmen's families, during which time they hoped desperately that the "missing in action" designation meant their loved ones would eventually be found alive. It was not to be.

From the statement given by Warren J. Chadwick, S/Sgt, Air Corps, 436th Bombardment Sq. (H):

On or about October 28, 1943 at approximately 1217 hours, I, S/Sgt Warren J. Chadwick, 19020370, while flying as right waist gunner in #2 position of the first element, observed the following: We were on our 2nd run when a three ship formation echeloned over our 2nd element. I saw two bombs drop from the ships above, one dropping between #2 engine and the fuselage of the ship hit. The bomb did not explode upon contact with the plane. It immediately burst into flames. The pilot maintained level flight for about 15 seconds; then the ship dropped off on the left wing for about 1000 feet, then exploded. When the explosion occurred, one man was blown out of the ship; his chute was burning and never opened. The tail turret was blown off and later exploded. I tried to follow the bigger pieces to the ground, most of which were still burning and exploding in the air. I did not see any large pieces hit the ground.

From the statement given by Arthur J. Darling, T/Sgt, Air Corps, 436th Bombardment Sq. (H):

On or about October 28, 1943 at approximately 1217 hours, I, Arthur J. Darling, 17037524, T/Sgt, 436th Bombardment Squadron (H) AAF, while flying as Aerial Engineer in Airplane #69 did observe the following: We were turning off our bomb run and the 2nd element was still on the run. A few seconds after the 2nd element's bombs were away I noticed three ships above them crossing over our 2nd element. I only saw two bombs drop, one of which fell directly on #5 ship, at the base of #2 engine. The bomb fell right through and the wing burst into flames. The ship maintained level flight for 15 to 20 seconds and fell off on the left wing burning more as it fell. I did not see it hit the ground.

After these depositions, a statement was sent to Gil's mother, Magdalene Barrett Rutherfurd, on December 9, 1943 from John B. Cooley, Colonel, A.G.D, Air Adjutant General. It reads, in part:

The Adjutant General notified you on November 3rd that your son, Second Lieutenant Lawrence G. Cook, was reported missing in action since October 28th over Burma.

Further information has been received that Lieutenant Cook was a crew member of a B-24 Liberator bomber which participated in a combat mission to Southern Burma on October 28th. The report states that during the mission his plane was seem to sustain damage from an accidental bomb explosion and to fall to the earth. This occurred at about 1:20 p.m. over Southern Burma.

Because of reasons of military security, it is regretted that the names of those who were on the plane and addresses of their next of kin cannot be furnished at the present time.

This letter did not clarify that Gil's plane had been struck by a bomb dropped by an American plane. It also did not give Magdalene the news that her son was surely dead.

In Kansas City, Jane Luce, fiancee of the plane's pilot, Jim Reese, had also learned that Reese's plane was missing. She sprung into action, finding an address for Magdalene Barrett Rutherfurd via the Red Cross and writing to her to share information. 

Jane also wrote to her Congressman, Roger C. Slaughter of Missouri, to ask for clarity on what had occurred. Congressman Slaughter made a request to the War Department on April 7, 1944 for more information about the downing of the plane. 

When no response was received, Slaughter tried again, and a contentious string of communication ensued. On April 27, 1944, W.H.S. Wright, Aide to the Secretary of War, acknowledged to Congressman Slaughter that the plane was downed in a friendly fire incident, and rejected any assertion of a coverup. It was now six months after Gil and his crew had died.

In 2014, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the National Archives and was sent a packet of wartime correspondence related to the downing of Gil's plane that included the letter above. It also contained a letter from the Army's chaplin to Magdalene Barrett Rutherfurd expressing his sadness at the lack of information about her son. It included communication between Colonel Fitzpatrick and Lt. Col. Haddock of the Air Corps. discussing the need for more transparency to the families. The War Department knew the men were dead but had not stated as such to their families. Protocols needed to be followed and a lengthy period of investigation was required.

In the meantime, Magdalene Barrett Rutherfurd had learned the terrible truth secondhand. Gil's cousin, my grandmother, LaVerne Rutherfurd Smith, and her husband, Glenn Smith, received a letter from a friend who had also been stationed in India. Dick wrote them the following on November 20, 1943.

Glenn, in a more serious light, I'm sorry to report that Lt. Cooke was killed in action. My old roommate wrote me from the squadron I was formerly in with Lt. Cooke that Lt. Cooke's plane was hit by a bomb in mid-air and shortly afterward his plane fell in flames to the ground. No one was seen to jump from the flaming ship. 

This hurts me to report this, but I know you people would want the truth. I felt terrible about the whole incident. Gosh, how I liked Lt. Cooke and so did everyone else. Please, extend my heart felt sympathies to his family and LaVerne.

This left it to my grandmother to inform her aunt that her son was dead. Magdalene shared the information with Jane Luce. However, the War Department's reluctance to make an official statement about the deaths left the door open to a cruel hope, and the families spent many months in limbo. On 29 October 1944, J.A. Ulio, The Adjutant General, sent Magdalene a letter declaring Gil deceased. It had been a year since his death.

Gil Cook's B-24 Liberator went down over Burma on October 28, 1943. He was 25 years old. In the agonizing year that followed, the families of the men who were lost struggled to cope, and the War Department searched for details about the friendly fire incident. In the end, Purple Hearts and Air Medals were distributed and the families of the nine men killed that day were left to live with their loss.

There were no bodies to send home in flag-draped coffins; no sons to bury in hometown graveyards. The sole memorial for Gil Cook is located in The Philippines, at the American Memorial Cemetery in Manila. It's located on the site of the former Fort William McKinley and was dedicated in 1960.

This photo was taken by my brother at the American Memorial Cemetery

                                            

The cemetery consists of a large graveyard filled with neat, white crosses. Beyond them is a memorial chapel flanked by two hemicycles of stone walls. Within these walls are mosaics detailing the various battles and campaigns in the Pacific Theater and China India Burma Theater during World War II, along with the inscribed names of the dead and missing. In the western hemicycle can be found the lists of the missing, divided by branch of armed services.

HERE ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF AMERICANS

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY

AND SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES

1941-1945

Today, I honor the service of Gil Cook and the eight other men who were lost on October 28, 1943. They were young and promising, in several cases the only sons or only children of their parents. They left behind grief stricken families and fiancees. The fact that I am writing about this incident and these deaths 77 years after they occurred indicates just how devastating these losses were to the families involved.

---

1 Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/436th_Training_Squadron^↩

Gil Cook: New Information

Gil Cook in 1942 while training at Gardner Army Airfield, California

My mother's cousin Mary recently came to visit, and she brought photos and letters that had belonged to her mother, Patricia Rutherfurd, half-sister of Gil Cook. This treasure trove of pictures and documents included letters that shared additional information about Gil's service in the 436th Bombardment Squadron during World War II.

As I wrote in my initial series of posts about Gil, his plane went down over Burma on October 28, 1943 after being hit by friendly fire. Initially, the Army telegrammed the families of the men on board the plane that their sons were missing. It took six months for them to learn the truth, that all the men had perished in the accident. My mother once told me that her parents, Glenn and LaVerne Smith, were actually the first to learn what really happened to Gil, and they found out not from the Army, but from a friend who had been stationed in India with Gil. I was stunned that families would have to learn such terrible news from friends, while the Army would say only that the men were missing.

Gil during his military training

In the collection of letters that Mary gave me, I found the original document my grandparents received in November 1943 from their friend Dick, telling them what happened on that fateful day over Burma. I quote here from the letter, dated November 20, 1943

Glenn, in a more serious light, I'm sorry to report that Lt. Cooke was killed in action. My old roommate wrote me from the squadron I was formerly in with Lt. Cooke that Lt. Cooke's plane was hit by a bomb in mid-air and shortly afterward his plane fell in flames to the ground. No one was seen to jump from the flaming ship. 

This hurts me to report this, but I know you people would want the truth. I felt terrible about the whole incident. Gosh, how I liked Lt. Cooke and so did everyone else.  Please, extend my heart felt sympathies to his family and LaVerne.

My grandmother, LaVerne, was very close to her cousin Gil. Born just weeks apart, they grew up very near each other in Los Angeles and had a sibling-like relationship. How devastating it must have been to receive this letter, and to have to tell Gil's mother what eyewitnesses said had happened to her son.

Gil's mother, Magdalene Barrett Rutherfurd, had received an initial telegram from the War Department on November 3, 1943, six days after her son's death, informing her that Gil was missing. A number of letters went back and forth between various military officials and the families of those killed on Gil's plane over the following months, but it took six months for official confirmation of the deaths. It is disappointing that it took so long for the families to be told the truth, since depositions taken by officers in Burma on November 7th indicated clearly that the plane went down in flames and no survivors were seen. However, Magdalene must have known from early on that she was unlikely to be reunited with her son, given the letter from Dick on November 20th.

Gil Cook: Memorial

This is the tenth and final post in a series about my Grandma's cousin, Lawrence Gilbert Cook.

Gil Cook's B-24 Liberator went down over Burma on October 28, 1943.  He was 25 years old.  In the agonizing year that followed, accusations of a cover-up were lobbied while the War Department searched for answers in the friendly fire incident.  In the end, Purple Hearts and Air Medals were distributed and the families of the nine men killed that day were left to live with their loss. 

There were no bodies to send home in flag-draped coffins; no sons to bury in hometown graveyards.  The sole memorial for Gil Cook is located in The Philippines, at the American Memorial Cemetery in Manila.  It's located on the site of the former Fort William McKinley and was dedicated in 1960.

The cemetery consists of a large graveyard filled with neat, white crosses.  Beyond them is a memorial chapel flanked by two hemicycles of stone walls.  Within these walls are mosaics detailing the various battles and campaigns in the Pacific Theater during World War II, along with the inscribed names of the dead and missing.  In the western hemicycle can be found the lists of the missing, divided by branch of armed services. 

HERE ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF AMERICANS

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY

AND SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES

1941-1945

Gil's name can be found under United States Army and Army Air Forces.  My brother visited this cemetery several years ago and took some photos of the site.  They are below.

Gil's story has resonated with me since I first heard it as a teenager.  He was 25 at the time of his death; just at the beginning of life.  That the facts of his death over Burma are so particularly tragic and senseless only compounds the loss.  What would this young man have done with his life, had he lived?  In the end, all I can do is memorialize Gil here and ask that he be remembered.

Lawrence Gilbert Cook
Born July 24, 1918 in Los Angeles
Died October 28, 1943 over Burma

Gil Cook: Resolution

Gil Cook

This is the ninth post in a series about my Grandma's cousin, Lawrence Gilbert Cook.

Gil Cook's plane went down over Burma on October 28, 1943.  His mother and the families of the other eight crew members spent many months searching for answers about what happened to the plane and their loved ones.   One full year later, in October of 1944, the War Department officially declared Gil Cook dead.

29 October 1944

Dear Mrs. Rutherfurd,

Since your son, Second Lieutenant Lawrence G. Cook, 0735053, Air Corps, was reported missing in action 28 October 1943, the War Department has entertained the hope that he survived and that information would be revealed dispelling the uncertainly surrounding his absence.  However, as in many case, the conditions of warfare deny us such information.  The record concerning your son show that he was a crew member of a B-24 Liberator bomber and that he participated in a mission to Toungoo, Burma, which is approximately fifty miles north of Rangoon, on 28 October 1943.  His plane exploded in midair and went down in the target area.

Full consideration has recently been given to all available information bearing on the absence of your son, including all records, reports and circumstances.  These have been carefully reviewed and considered.  In view of the fact that twelve months have now expired without the receipt of evidence to support a continued presumption of survival, the War Department must terminate such absence by a presumptive finding of death.  Accordingly, an official filing of death has been recorded under the provisions of Public Law 490, 77th Congress, approved March 7, 1942, as amended.

The finding does not establish an actual or probable date of death; however, as required by law, it includes a presumptive date of death for the termination of pay and allowances, settlement of accounts and payment of death gratuities.   In the case of your son, this date has been set as 29 October 1944, the day following the expiration to twelve months' absence.

I regret the necessity for this message but trust that the ending of a long period of uncertainty may give at least some small measure of consolation.  I hope you may find sustaining comfort in the thought that the uncertainty with which war has surrounded the absence of your son has enhanced the honor of his service to his country and of his sacrifice.

Sincerely Yours,
s/ J.A. Ulio
Major General
The Adjutant General

In December of 1944, Gil Cook was awarded a posthumous Purple Heart for his service.  Gil's mother, Magdalene Rutherfurd, received the following letter from the War Department informing her of the award.

December 13, 1944

My dear Mrs. Rutherfurd,

At the request of the President, I write to inform you that the Purple Heart has been awarded posthumously to your son, Second Lieutenant Lawrence G. Cook, Air Corps, who sacrificed his life in defence of his country.

Little that we can do or say will console you for the death of your loved one.  We profoundly appreciate the greatness of your loss, for in a very real sense the loss suffered by any of us in this battle for our country is a loss shared by all of us.  When the medal, which you will shortly receive, reaches you, I want you to know that with it goes my sincerest sympathy, and the hope that time and the victory of our cause will finally lighten the burden of your grief.

Sincerely yours,
s/ Henry L. Stimson

A letter followed from the Army Air Forces.

My dear Mrs. Rutherfurd:

With keen regret I have learned that an official determination has been made of the death of your son, Second Lieutenant Lawrence Gilbert Cook, who has been missing in action since October 28, 1943, in the Asiatic Area.

Word has come to me that Lieutenant Cook was a conscientious and dependable cadet who developed into an officer of real worth.  he made the most of his opportunities throughout training and graduated from the Advanced Flying School at Douglas, Arizona, with a commission and rating of pilot.  His sportsmanlike attitude and willingness to cooperate to the best of his ability marked him as a valuable airman.

Your son made a fine contribution toward the furtherance of our cause and sacrificed his life bravely.  May your pride in him comfort you in your bereavement.

I offer my deep sympathy to you and other members of the family.

Very sincerely,
s/ H. H. Arnold
General, U.S. Army,
Commanding General, Army Air Forces

In addition to the Purple Heart, Gil was posthumously awarded the Air Medal "for meritorious achievement by participating as pilot from 13 June to 27 September 1943 in heavy bombardment missions totaling more than one hundred hours during which exposure to enemy fire was probable and expected.  These flights, in which he has flown from bases in India, over Burma, Thailand, and the Andaman Islands, have been eminently successful."

At the time of the declaration of Gil's death and the awards bestowed upon him, Magdalene Rutherfurd was living with her husband and daughter in Henderson, Nevada.  For unknown reasons, the War Department misdirected much of their communication to her to Redwood City, California.  Magdalene wrote to the War Department, asking that they correct her address and please send the Air Medal to Nevada, not California.  After a long and painful year, there was finally an official resolution for Magdalene and the families of the other missing airmen.

Gil Cook: The Other Men on His Plane

This is the eighth post in a series about my Grandma's cousin, Lawrence Gilbert Cook.

Gil was not the only young man lost on October 28, 1943.  There were nine airmen on his plane.  Here is the the complete list of those who died that day.


James M. Reese, 1st Lieutenant
The son of Mr. George H. Reese and Mrs. Annabelle Reese of Petersburg, Virginia.  James "Jim" Mackintosh Reese was the eldest of his parents' children and their only son.  His sisters were Alice, Frances and Annabelle Reese.  Jim's father was a physician who ran a private practice in Petersburg.  Jim attended the University of Virginia, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma, and graduated in 1939.  In April 1943, he became engaged to Jane Luce*, of Kansas City, Missouri, whom he planned to marry upon his return from active service.

Lawrence G. Cook, 2nd Lieutenant
The son of Magdelene Barrett Rutherfurd of Henderson, Nevada (formerly Los Angeles and Long Beach, California).  He was his parents' only son.  Born in 1918, Gil was 25 when he died.  See my previous posts for more details about Gil's life and military service.





Charles L. Davis, Jr., 2nd Lieutenant
The son of Mr. Charles L. Davis, Sr. and Mrs. Bertha S. Davis of Charlotte, North Carolina.  His father, Charles Sr., was an accountant for the local utilities service.  Charles was born in 1921.  He had two siblings, Lida and Frank Davis.








Joseph A. Zofco, 2nd Lieutenant
The son of Mr. Martin Zofco and Mrs. Mary Zofco of Warren, Ohio.  Joe was born in 1919 and was one of six children born to his parents. His siblings were Susie, Steve, John, Andrew and Mike Zofco.  Joe's parents were immigrants from Czechoslovakia and his father worked in a steel mill in Ohio.  Joe and Gil seem to have been close friends, as Gil's journal entries mention him frequently.






Edward J. Perrin, T/Sgt
The son of Mr. John J. Perrin and Mrs. Margaret Perrin of Dover Plains, New York.  Edward was born in 1919 and was the youngest of five children.  His older siblings were Miriam, John, William and Margaret Perrin.  Edward's paternal grandparents had been Irish immigrants to New York.  A memorial headstone for Edward stands near his parents' graves in St. John's Cemetery, Pawling, New York.

Charles Chouteau

Charles P. Chouteau, Private
The son of Mr. Charles P. Chouteau and Mrs. Lavinia Chouteau of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  He was born July 1, 1924, making him the youngest of the men on the plane and just 19 at the time of his death.  Charles was one of six children and his siblings were Jennieve, Charlotte, Mary Jane, Barbara and Nell Marie Chouteau.  His mother's parents had been immigrants from Finland and Sweden; his father's family was from Kansas.  Charles' nickname was "Sonny" and he was the radio operator on board the plane.  A letter addressed to his mother was found in Charles' belongings after his death.  In it, he expressed that he was not afraid and believed in what he was fighting for.  (After communication from Charles Chouteau's family, I have corrected a few details in this paragraph, including his date of birth and the names of his siblings.)


William Jerabek, S/Sgt
The son of Mr. William Jerabek and Mrs. Sophia Jerabek of St. Paul, Minnesota (later Los Angeles, California).  He was born in 1921 and was his parents' only child.  His father's parents immigrated from Czechoslovakia and his mother immigrated from Vienna, Austria.  His father was a baker in St. Paul.

Donald P. Morris, S/Sgt
The son of Mr. John T. Morris and Mrs. Nellie Morris of Arlington, Massachusetts.  Donald Peter Morris was born in 1923, making him twenty years old at the time of his death in 1943.  Donald was the second of his parents' eight children.  His siblings were John, Rita, Richard, Eileen, Ann, Edward and Robert.  His father was a laborer who worked in road construction.






John P. Wood, T/Sgt
The son of Mr. James Franklin Wood and Mrs. Lillie Pearl Wood of Angelina County, Texas.  John was the youngest of four children.  His siblings were Franklin, Janie and Calvin.  His father was a farmer in their East Texas town.  A memorial headstone for John can be found in Huntington Cemetery, Huntington, Texas.







Nine young lives; nine families shattered.

* I would also like to say a word about Jane Luce, fiancee of the plane's 1st Lieutenant, Jim Reese.  After reading her letter to Gil's mother Magdalene, so full of hope that Jim and the other airmen had survived, I felt like I needed to know what happened to her once the truth became clear.  Jane, the daughter of Lorenzo and Alice Luce, was a graduate of Skidmore College and active in Kansas City society.  After Jim's death, she did post-graduate work at Mills College and earned an MBA from University of Missouri - Kansas City.  She became Vice President of her family's luggage manufacturing company, serving in that role for 30 years.  Her real passion was animals, and she was deeply involved in local and national horse and dog groups during her lifetime.  After Jim's death, Jane continued to visit his family in Virginia for several years.  She never married.  She died in 1992, 49 years after Jim's plane went down over Burma.