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| Name: | Everett Richard Cook | Country: | United States | Rank: | Captain | Service: | United States Air Service | Squadrons: | 91st Aero | Victories: | 5 | Born: | 13 December 1894 | Place of Birth: | Indianapolis, Indiana | Died: | 21 January 1974 | Place of Death: | Memphis, Tennessee |
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| | From Memphis, Tennessee, Cook enlisted in the United States Air Service on 4 June 1917. Graduating from the School of Military Aeronautics at Champaign, Illinois on 8 August 1917, he was ordered to Chanute Field for preliminary flight training. In November, he was ordered to Garden City, Long Island for overseas assignment and was commissioned a First Lieutenant in the aviation section of the Officers' Signal Reserve Corps. Arriving in France, he received advanced flight training at Issoudun before reporting for duty with the 1st Observation Group in Amanty on 15 February 1918. After completing an aerial gunnery course at Casaux in March, Cook was reassigned to the 91st Pursuit Squadron on 1 April 1918. Having been appointed Flight Commander on 10 August 1918, Cook assumed command of the squadron on 31 August 1918. Flying Salmson two-seaters, he and his observers shot down one Pfalz D.III and four Fokker D.VII's during September and October of 1918. Discharged from active duty on 15 August 1919, Cook returned to Memphis where he later became a member of the Cotton Exchange and served as its president in 1931. During World War II, he returned to active duty, serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. 8th Air Force in England. Following World War II, he joined his friend Edward Rickenbacker at Eastern Airlines in 1946, serving first as a board member and later as director. Cook eventually retired from the Air Force reserve having attained the rank of Brigadier General. |
| Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) |
| "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has carried out offensive patrols with marked determination and dash, and he has on all occasions engaged the enemy with marked skill and an entire disregard of personal danger. On 8 August 1918, he attacked an enemy kite balloon over Vitry-en-Artois. One observer jumped clear with a parachute and the balloon burst into flames and went down. Personally he has accounted for enemy aircraft as follows: On 8 August, during a general engagement west of Douai, he engaged a Fokker biplane and fired a short burst from point blank range. EA went down vertically after emitting a huge cloud of smoke and though the enemy machine was not seen to burst into flames, it was evidently on fire. He then attacked a balloon over Vitry but seeing a DFW below it, he attacked the EA instead. He fired a long burst from above; the enemy machine dived, started to spin and crashed on the southern edge of Vitry-en-Artois village. On 7 August, while on offensive patrol in the vicinity of Carvin, four enemy scouts were engaged. He selected one and fired about 300 rounds closing at short range. EA spiraled steeply, side-slipped at intervals and was seen to crash in the vicinity of Carvin. On 14 July, when on offensive patrol, he fired about 150 rounds into a Pfalz scout from 75 yards range. Enemy mahcine was observed to crash near Epinoy. In addition to the above, this officer has destroyed one EA and driven on down out of control." DFC citation |
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