James G. Cooley.
Tail Gunner · 409th Squadron · Of Cohoes, NY.
The man.
From the 2nd Air Division Association Yearbook
As the tail gunner, his crew flew to Scotland on July 8, 1944. As a replacement crew they flew with 93rd Bomb Group, 409th Bomb Sqdn. out of Hardwick, starting their first mission on Aug. 13, 1944.
On August 21, Cooley spent his first Army three day pass in London. Their ninth mission on September 25 was a flak-filled venture to Koblenz. The struggle to get to and land at Brussels on only two engines was a thrill. The enemy had departed only one week before.
On his 19th birthday he flew his 13th mission. The 35-mission tour was completed on March 14, 1945, but he continued to fly through #39 on March 24.
Jim was discharged as staff sergeant on Sept. 20, 1945.
Service record.
Missions flown.
Before and after.
James G. Cooley was born Oct. 25, 1925 at Cohoes, NY, a mill town at the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers junction. During high school he joined the New York State Guard, Civil Air Patrol and enlisted in the Air Force Reserve for Aviation Cadet training. After induction on November 1943, he had basic training at Greensboro, NC; Gunnery School at Laredo, TX; and flight crew training at Tucson, AZ.
James Cooley married his high school girlfriend, Alice Luke, on Nov. 12, 1945. They have seven children and seven grandchildren.