[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 59 (Thursday, April 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H3159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE LIFE OF SERGEANT JACK COLEMAN COOK

  (Mr. WESTERMAN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of 
Sergeant Jack Coleman Cook of Hot Springs, Arkansas, for his heroic 
actions in World War II. Sergeant Cook was a ball turret gunner on a B-
17 Flying Fortress named the Challenger.
  On February 3, 1945, the 384th Bomb Group participated in a mission 
over Berlin. During the mission, the Challenger was hit by flak, 
damaging multiple engines, gas tanks, and the fuselage, but left the 
crew unharmed.
  On the return journey home, the plane began losing altitude and 
crash-landed in the frigid North Sea. The crewmembers abandoned the 
aircraft and boarded two life rafts but became separated.
  Navigator Edward Field, a crewmember who stayed in the water, began 
to push his raft towards the other raft but became numb and said that 
he could no longer hold on. Sergeant Cook got into the water so the 
crew's navigator could get out of the cold sea and take his spot in the 
raft. The sergeant then swam for 45 minutes until they reached the 
second raft. Shortly afterward, air-sea rescue located the crew, but 
Sergeant Cook had little life left in him, and he passed away on the 
boat.
  It is with great gratitude and respect that I honor Jack Coleman 
Cook. Sergeant Cook is a true American hero. He selflessly gave his 
life for his fellow man, and for this, we remember him more than 70 
years later.

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