Barry Cooke

**Barry Thomas Cooke** is a United States Navy Lieutenant Commander who went missing in action on February 2, 1991 during the Persian Gulf War. He is one of two American servicemen in the war to remain unaccounted for. A third serviceman, Scott Speicher, was located in 2009.

## Background

Barry Cooke was born on June 27, 1955 to Thomas and Shirley Cooke in Austin, Texas. Growing up, he would race around the yard with his arms outstretched, pretending to fly. Additionally, he spent countless hours building intricate model airplanes. His parents encouraged Cooke's dream of being a pilot.

When he was nineteen, while a sophomore majoring in aviation at American Technological University in Killeen, Texas, he applied for Aviation Reserve Officer's Candidate School at Pensacola, Florida. He was one of only forty candidates selected nationwide for admission. While there, his flying club placed first in a bombing competition. He excelled in bombing that he won many awards for accuracy, including the Norden Pickel Barrel Award.

In 1979, Cooken was stationed in Kingsville, Texas when he won his *Wings of Gold,* the Navy flier designation. He served on the carriers USS America and USS Enterprise at Whidbey Island, Washington and then returned to Kingsville as a training instructor. He moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia in 1986 and served on the USS John F. Kennedy before joining the *Roadrunners* of Squadron 36 in April of 1989. He accumulated more than 2,000 hours flying time in the A-6E Intruder during his military career and was awarded the Airwing Eight Top Ten Pilot award and a Navy Achievement Medal.

During this time, Cooke married a woman named Letitia Faught, and together they had three children, twins Justin and Ashley in 1987 and Nathan in 1990.

## Persian Gulf War

On August 2, 1990, the Iraqi Ground Forces under Saddam Hussein invaded and annexed the country of Kuwait. This invasion led to the beginning of the Persian Gulf War. A United Nations-backed coalition of thirty-five countries, led by the United States, instigated Operation Desert Shield between August 2, 1990 and January 17, 1991, which saw the build-up of soldiers and defense of Saudi Arabia. Operation Desert Storm began on January 17, 1991, two days after a deadline for the Iraqi forces to leave Kuwait had passed.

By this time Cooke was based at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach and was attached to Attack Squadron 36 on the Carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. The USS Theodore Roosevelt deployed to the gulf on December 30, 1990.

On February 2, 1991 Cooke and another airman, Lieutenant Patrick K. Connor, were flying on a mission when their A-6E Intruder aircraft when they were hit by anti-aircraft fire. The plane presumably crashed into the Persian Gulf. The Cooke family was notified the same day that he was shot down.

## Aftermath

On March 31, 1991, Connor's remains were accidentally discovered found on the northern shoreline of the Persian Gulf. Helicopters with infrared imagery equipment spent almost two hundred hours searching the area where the crash was believed to have occurred, but never located Cooke or the aircraft. As he was not among the remains and prisoners of war returned to US custody, it is presumed that he was killed as well.

The crew of the Roosevelt established an education and medical emergency trust fund for Cooke's children. It was handled at no cost by a Virginia Beach law firm. When the fund was being established, one of the servicemen told Shirley, "Their dad may not come back, but they're going to have five thousand uncles.

A memorial marker at Memorial Section H in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia was set up on March 17, 1991 in his honor.

## Sources

* Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
* *Daily Press*
* Barry Cooke at *Find a Grave*
* *Together We Served*