Dallas H. Cook


Sergeant Dallas Harry Cook was a United States Marine who served in the Marine Raiders during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroic actions during the Makin Island Raid.

Biography

Dallas Cook was born on May 19, 1921 in Robinette, West Virginia, and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on August 14, 1940. After service at Quantico, Guantanamo Bay, and Puerto Rico, he served in the field from February 14, 1942. He was promoted to sergeant on May 21, 1942 and was killed in action in the Marine Raiders' raid on Makin Island on August 18, 1942. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the raid in which he was killed.

Navy Cross citation

The citation for the award reads:

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross to Dallas H. Cook, Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism and conspicuous devotion to duty while serving as a member of a volunteer boat crew in Company B, SECOND Marine Raider Battalion, during the Marine Raider Expedition against the Japanese-held island of Makin in the Gilbert Islands on 17 and 18 August 1942. Fully aware of the hazards of an imminent enemy air attack, and with complete disregard for his own life, Sergeant Cook, with four others, volunteered to take a boat to a point just outside a reef and shoot a line ashore to assist in evacuating those men remaining on the beach. Caught on the sea, he was defeated in his valiant efforts by the violent strafing of his boat by withering enemy machine-gun fire. His great personal valor and loyal spirit of self-sacrifice were in keeping with the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave up his life in the service of his country.

Namesake

The high-speed transport USS Cook was named in honor of Sgt. Cook and his brother, Lieutenant Andrew F. Cook, Jr., USMC, who was also killed in action in 1942.