World War II Honoree

James E. Cook

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Montpellier, Indiana

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Staff Sergeant. On December 31, 1941, he entered the United States Army at Fort Benjamin, Indiana, receiving his Army combat training at Camp Roberts, California. Served with Company-I, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, a subordinate unit of the 32nd Infantry ‘Red Arrow’ Division attached to the United States Sixth Army. His division participated in The Battle of Luzon against the Imperial Japanese Army forces (Battle Dates: January 9-August 15, 1945) in the Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations. Killed in Action Monday, March 5, 1945 in the Caraballo Mountain in Central Luzon and buried in the United States Armed Forces Cemetery, Santa Barbara #1 Philippine Islands. After the cessation of hostilities with Japan, his family requested that his remains be interred at the American Cemetery located at Fort Bonifacio in Manila, Philippine Islands. His family as placed a memorial marker in his memory at the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery in Montpelier, Indiana. This Solider, an American Patriot, awarded the Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf Cluster posthumously, who so gallantly gave his life for his country.