Jayhawk: Love, Loss, Liberation and Terror Over the Pacific

George Cooper is a veteran pilot who saw action over Rabaul and Wewak. Jayhawk describes the war as it really was, with far-reaching tentacles that gripped and tore at the combatants, their families, friends, and the way they lived their lives. Stout reviews Cooper's journey to the United States and his unlikely entry into the United States Army Air Forces, where he was trained as a B-25 pilot and flew strafing missions that shredded the enemy but put himself and his comrades in grave danger. Cooper was pulled two ways by the pull of duty and his obligation to his wife and daughter, and always on his mind was the family he left behind in the Philippines who were under the Japanese thrall.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 31 March 2023
Publisher: Casemate Publishers

George Cooper, a veteran pilot who saw action over Rabaul and Wewak, was born in the Philippines to an American father and a Filipina mother. Jayhawk, his memoir, describes the war as a conflict with far-reaching tentacles that gripped and tore at not only the combatants but also their families, friends, and the way they lived their lives. Stout examines Cooper's growing up in gentle and idyllic pre-war Manila and how he grew to be the man he is. At 100 years old, few men are left alive who can share similar experiences. Stout reviews Cooper's journey to the United States and his unlikely entry into the United States Army Air Forces. Trained as a B-25 pilot, Cooper was assigned to the iconic 345th Bomb Group and flew strafing missions that shredded the enemy but also put himself and his comrades in grave danger. A husband and father, Cooper was pulled two ways by the pull of duty and his obligation to his wife and daughter. And always on his mind was the family he left behind in the Philippines who were under the Japanese thrall.

Weight: 404g
Dimension: 152 x 229 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781636243047