Here's more that I have found from 1976
Promoted to full Col. in June,1942& was inducted into the federal service by order of the president.
During his overseas duty he was in command of several airfields on the Fiji Islands located in the South Pacific. Cooked served w/ the 361st base headquarters & the 361st Air Base squadron.
This reporter writes:
while talking w/
weir cook jr. I was given some of the details involved in Weir cooks fatal crash. Col. Cook left his base piloting a P-39 Bell corporation Airo-Corba plane. His fathers mission was to bomb a reported submarine in the South Pacific. According to weir Jr. it was the cloudy weather condition which led to the death of his father. while in pursuit of the sub, Cook misjudged the side of the mountain crashing to his death.
JC
Quote:
Frank and others,
Thank you for your comments. New Caledonia (750 miles NNW of New Zealand) would seem more likely as the place of his fatal accident, especially given minmal US air activity in New Zealand at the time.
Does the ‘361’ on his tombstone refer to his service number or that of the AAF Base HQ he was with. If the latter, can someone confirm if this relates to a base in New Caledonia?
Presumably, also, his service record would help confirm his last place of posting and death? Has anyone obtained a copy of this to check and confirm details of HWC’s career, of which there presently appear to be rather few and sometimes contradictory at that?
Regards,
Errol
|