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NAME Reuben Collins Cooper |
NICKNAME Collins |
SERVICE NUMBER 409465 |
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| UNIT VMSB-143 Aviator |
HOME OF RECORD Tylertown, MS |
NEXT OF KIN Mother, Mrs. Ruby M. Cooper |
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| DATE OF BIRTH November 9, 1921 at Columbia, MS |
ENTERED SERVICE July 13, 1942 at Jackson, MS |
DATE OF LOSS May 30, 1943 |
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| REGION Solomon Islands |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Guadalcanal |
CASUALTY TYPE Non-battle death Declared dead May 31, 1945 |
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CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS On 30 May 1943, Cooper and his crew – 1Lt. Calvert S. Bowie and Pvt. Robert L. Riddlebaugh – took one of the squadron’s Avenger bombers (TBF-1 BuNo 01737) aloft for a routine test hop. At 0944, for reasons unknown, this aircraft went down at sea approximately eight miles offshore of Lunga Point. Sailors aboard the USS Pringle saw the splash, and the destroyer hurried to the scene but found only an oil slick – no debris, and no survivors. Because the crash could not be immediately proven as Avenger #01737, the crew was reported as missing. Reuben Cooper was officially declared dead as of 31 May 1945. |
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| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Commendation Ribbon |
LAST KNOWN RANK Corporal |
STATUS OF REMAINS Not recovered |
MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery |
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Biography:
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I am one of Collins’ great nephews. Is it possible to know what his specific duties were? Was he the dorsal turret gunner, or bombardier?
Mr. Cooper – I looked in the unit muster rolls for VMSB-143 (the original squadron designation, equipped with SBD-type bombers) and both Cooper and Riddlebaugh are listed as “radio gunners,” which is to say they were both qualified to fly in the rear seat of a two-man plane. Unfortunatley, after the transition to TBFs, both are listed as “aviators” so I am not sure who was in which position. Muster rolls starting in 1944 have a three-digit MOS code indicating special training, but those numbers were not included in rolls up to the time of Cooper’s crash.
In Captain Bowie’s IDPF, Cooper and Riddlebaugh are simply referred to as “passengers” aboard the plane. The unit war diary might make the distinction, but I haven’t found a digitized copy of that file yet.
His Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) which should be held at NARA St. Louis will likely have more specifics about his training regimen and specific military qualifications.
Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for you response! I’ve been a bit under the weather and hadn’t checked back until now. I’ll pursue this further down the route you suggest. Again, thank you!