Keith Cookus
MilitaryAssigned to 67BS, 44BG, 8AF USAAF. 25 x combat missions. Pilot on Agathe d' Aliermont V1 site mission in B-24 42-99970 'Liberty Belle' 21-Jan-44; RTD. MACR 8174.
Crash landed at RAF Lympne, Kent on return from target Furth, Germany on 25-Feb-44 in B-24 41-29231 'Impatient Virgin'. RTD.
Awards: DFC (OLC), AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Post War: Flight instructor and chief pilot for Val Airways, Inc at the time of his death in a plane crash.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 67th Bomb Squadron 68th Bomb Squadron Headquarters (44th Bomb Group)
- Service Numbers: 19074431 / O-727956
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 67th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 67th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 32079625
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 67th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 38179723
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 67th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-678607
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 25 February 1944
- Date: 21 January 1944
![Personnel of the 94th Bomb Group at a mission briefing. A censor has obscured the maps and charts in the background. Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press'[stamp],'Passed for publication 14 December 1943.'[stamp] '296691.'[Censor no] Printed caption on reverse: 'Operations Room at US Air Base. Preparing for take off. Associated Press photo shows: Col.F. W. Castle, Group Commanding Officer, gives the massed crews of the base the last part of the briefing, and a personal 'Godspeed' and 'Good Luck' in](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-408449.jpg.webp?itok=nKEJNh_9)
- Date: 11 December 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Pathway
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Fort Collins, CO | 18 March 1919 | Born Faye Keith, son of Fay Andrew and Muriel L Cookus. |
|
Enlisted |
Los Angeles, CA | 10 December 1941 | Los Angeles, California |
|
Died |
North Sister, OR | 7 September 1978 | Crashed fatally into side of North Sister, Oregon |
|
Buried |
Willamette National Cemetery Portland, Multnomah County, OR | 11 September 1978 | Willamette National Cemetery Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon Plot: O, 0, 233 |
|
Downey, CA |
Downey, CA | Draft registration Contact: John Andrew Runnalls - his cousin. | |
|
Based |
Shipdham | Assigned to 67BS, 44BG, 8AF USAAF. |
Revisions
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.
https://www.fold3.com/image/28698055
https://www.fold3.com/image/28698182
https://www.fold3.com/image/28703344
https://www.fold3.com/image/628300311
https://www.fold3.com/record/84959374-keith-cookus
https://www.fold3.com/image/89092132?rec=89092148
We Were Eagles Volume Two: The Eighth Air Force at War December 1943 to May 1944 By Martin W. Bowman
http://www.8thairforce.com/members/rollofhonor2.asp?perIdentification=2…
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/519490/keith-cookus
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 8714, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces