Bob Cook

Birthplace: St. Francis, KS

Branch of Service: Army

Unit: 13th Airborne Division, 101st Airborne/507th parachute infantry regiment

Theater of Operation: European

Military Honors: American Theatre Service Medal; EAME Service Medal (European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign) with Bronze Service Star; SS30 Caliber Rifle M1; Occupational Parachute Badge; Good Conduct Medal; World War II Victory Medal

Honored By: Witness to War and the Eisenhower Foundation

Bob Cook grew up on a farm in Sherman County, Kansas, during the Great Depression. After Pearl Harbor was attacked, ‘On Monday morning, I was in high school and everybody went to the auditorium. They turned on the news and we listened to President Roosevelt declare war. I was 17.’ Cook was drafted and decided to join the paratroopers.

During Cook’s journey overseas on the Queen Mary, the D-Day invasion occurred. His assignment was as a replacement. On the way to Berlin, they found a labor camp and liberated thousands of Italian prisoners. Once in Berlin, Cook worked guard shifts around General Eisenhower’s headquarters. Lacking enough points to go home, Cook made the Army wresting team and competed until he was able to return to the United States.