Man’s Remains Now Returning Home To Georgetown 80 Years After WW2

Georgetown, Texas listed just under 4,000 residents in the 1940 census, and one of those counted is finally coming home over 80 years after being listed as missing in action after his plane crashed in the Pacific Theatre. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency was able to exhume remains in 2022, and with modern technology they have worked to positively identify 1st Lt. Charles W. McCook, a pilot with the United States Airforce, so now Airman McCook will finally be able to return to Texas and buried in Georgetown.

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1st Lt. McCook was born in around 1920, and was 23 years old when his bombing plane crashed near Meiktila in what is now Myanmar, but at the time was called Burma until 1989. When the plane crashed, it is believed four members of the crew were dead at the scene, and two other members were then captured by Japanese forces according to the MPAA release.

Georgetown, TX: WWII Airman Missing Since 1943 Finally Identified

The story could have ended with a MIA designation, but thankfully in 1947 the American Grave Registration Service was able to locate a burial site outside of the village of Kyunpobin, and locals were able to inform the team that the remains were from an American plane crash in 1943. The bodies were then transported to Hawaii and interned as unknowns at the Punchbowl, or National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

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1st Lt. McCool will be placed in August, if you would like information on the ceremony to pay your respects, you can contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.