1st Lt. John Cook
Returning Mission Crash Landing - Laon-Athies, France
Ralph Conte relates the following details from Mission #209 in his book Attack Bombers We Need You:
"A third plane, piloted by Lt. R.K. Johnson of the 669th squadron had an engine shot out. Feathering it, he returned to base on single engine and attempted to land. He didn't think he would make it on the first run, so pulled up, but turned into his dead engine. He had no pulling power, the plane stalled and headed toward the tents in the 670th squadron area. Some pilots were watching the landings, saw Johnson's plane coming toward them, and ran. They did not get clear enough. The plane struck a wooden building. The three pilots hit, being Lt. John Cook, Lt. T.S. [Ted] Merritt and Lt. [Stan] Sheley. Lt. Cook suffered a fractured skull, hips and legs, causing him to lose his life. Merritt suffered a fractured leg and Sheley had a foot bone broken. Pilot Johnson was trappped in his wreckage for about an hour and was dragged out, suffering a broken collar bone and cuts about the face. His gunner, Sgt. Brandt escaped injury."
In addition,Wayne Downing writes:
"Ted [Merritt] also had one eyeball hanging out and needed morphine. He had it in his pocket and asked the first guy that arrived to get it out and give him a shot ( Our first aide kits in the airplane had morphine in them--some crew members carried some of it on their person for emergencies of which there were many). The hospital put his eye back in and repaired his other broken bones. It took a year. He stayed in the service. He took eye treatments and eye exercises for four years and actually got back on flying status. The photos were taken from the front door of the tent I lived in, in the 670th BS area. My crew and I were out on the flight line at our plane at that time and watched the crash occur."
Wreckage of the plane flown by Lt. R.K. Johnson that crashed in the 670th squadron area.
"Goin' Home" courtesy of the U.S. Air Force Band