Cooke, Charles
Unit: 8th Air Force
Charles was born in 1915. He was a B-17 Pilot in the United States Army Air Corps He was in the 8th Air Force (Mighty Eighth) flying out of England. Charles flew 30 very dangerous missions, with all the flak and fighters trying their best to shoot him down. He flew his B-17 at altitudes of 30,000ft in temperatures as low as 30 and 50 below zero.The B-17 had a reputation as a diffucult craft to pilot. Charles had a plaque inscribed “Lucky Bastards Club” for having survived 30 missions. Chuck stayed in the service for over 30 yrs retiring in the 1960s, having received multiple awards including the Distinguished Flying Cross.