media-38896.jpeg UPL 38896 From Waterford, CT, Lt. Emory C. Cook flew 62 combat missions with the 368th Fighter Squadron, 359th Fighter Group, from 12 June 1944 through 3 March 1945. He was then reassigned as a pilot instructor at Waco AFF where he served through 16 May 1945.

On August 9th [1944] the heavy bombers of the 1st ATF, 1st BD, struck targets in Munich. We furnished ramrod support maintaining escort around the target. At 1100 in the vicinity of Measbach, Lt’s Keesey and F/O Cook started a diving attack on 30 unidentified s/e enemy aircraft flying at 20,000 feet. 30 FW 190s at 30,000 feet started after our aircraft which immediately pulled up into the top cover. Lt. Keesey succeeded in destroying one of the attacking FW 190s. F/O Cook got strikes on an unidentified s/e enemy aircraft damaging it. R/V and escort was made extremely difficult by several layers of strata form clouds extending to 30,000 feet. Huge oil fires were observed at Karlshrue on the way in. The bombers were observed dropping their bombs over Munich but the targets could not be seen due to weather conditions. 359th Fighter Group collection

Photo courtesy Robert B. Hatter.
Archived by Char Baldridge, Historian, 359th Fighter Group Association.
Posted by Janet Fogg, 359th Fighter Group Historian.