Ens. Fred Cooper Missing In Action
Ens. Frederick Cooper, former Orange City athletic coach reported missing in the Pacific area may still be alive, is the hope of his many Orange City friends.
Mrs. Cooper and small Rebecca returned to Orange City Saturday from Winterset where they were visiting the former’s parents when the official telegram reached them. The landing craft which Ens. Cooper was assisting to operate was hit four times by enemy gun fire, and another ensign on the same boat was reported killed. Mrs. Cooper was advised of this in a letter from the ensign’s wife and also heard from the wife of another officer who was wounded in the same engagement. It is her hope that Ens. Cooper was picked up by some other craft and will still be heard from.
Source: The Alton Democrat, Thursday, March 22, 1945
Frederick Cooper. Jr. was born Mar. 2, 1920 to Frederick (Sr.) and Frances Elizabeth Certain Cooper. He died Feb. 16, 1945 and is memorialized at the Courts of the Missing, Court 5, Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii and has a cenotaph in West Lawn Cemetery, Orange City, IA.
Ensign Cooper served in World War II with the U.S. Navy aboard the USS LCI(G) 449, engaged in supporting the landing of underwater demolition teams on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands. He was MIA/FOD/KIA and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart and Air Medal with 2 Gold Stars.
Source: ancestry.com
