FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAXWELL AFB, Ala. — Glen P. Cook of East Greenbush, N.Y., one of the original “subchasers” in Civil Air Patrol, died Feb. 4 at the Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany, N.Y. He was 86.

Cook was one of the courageous civilian pilots who helped protect America’s eastern coastline from German submarine attacks during World War II. Civilian pilots like Cook were pressed into service for these early homeland security missions when the nation’s military air power was occupied overseas. Often flying older aircraft under less than ideal conditions, the subchasers risked their lives to fly along the Eastern coastline to spot and report enemy submarines. Those early coastal patrols eventually evolved into the Civil Air Patrol, which became the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.

Cook began flying CAP missions in 1942, working out of Rehoboth Beach, Del. He flew 306 patrols during the war years and logged more than 700 flight hours. For his outstanding service, he was awarded the Air Medal by President Harry Truman in 1948.

Cook also served in the U.S. Army during World War II in the Pacific Theater on Guam, Saipan and Iwo Jima. In addition to flying, Cook served as a teletype operator and also taught courses in meteorology. After the war, he returned to his home in East Greenbush, N.Y. and a successful career in commercial photography. In 1960, Cook was appointed to a select group of commercial photographers known as the “Elite 300,” recognized as the top 5 percent of professional photographers in the United States. He was also a lifelong member of Kiwanis and a Mason.

Cook was an honorary member of CAP’s New York Wing and continued throughout his life to promote the organization. In 2002, he attended the CAP New York Wing conference, dressed in his vintage World War II CAP uniform, and held the young CAP cadets there spellbound with stories of his subchaser days.

Cook also continued to meet with other early members of CAP during their annual reunions at Rehoboth Beach. During his lifetime, he attended more than 50 of these reunions, and often said his experiences in CAP were among the most outstanding of his lifetime. In 1993, he was actually able to talk with a former World War II German submarine officer who remembered dodging Cook’s plane during an aerial patrol.

“If not for people like Glen Cook, there would be no Civil Air Patrol today,” said Maj. Gen. Richard Bowling, the current CAP national commander. “Those early members risked their lives every day to protect America. They were pilots in the truest sense of the word. No fancy airplanes. No sophisticated navigation equipment. Just people who really understood the principles of flight and had the nerve and the stamina to keep those birds in the air.”

“Prior to Sept. 11, we might not have fully appreciated the contributions of subchasers like Glen Cook,” said Al Allenback, CAP executive director. “But now we know how it feels to be attacked on our own soil, and we can understand what it must have been like to know there were German subs hovering off the U.S. coastline. Those civilian pilots risked their lives to defend America. Theirs were the quintessential homeland security missions.”

Cook is survived by Beatrice, his wife of 53 years, and three sons, Glen, David and Robert. Cook’s children share their father’s love of aviation; David and Robert are active pilots and Glen works as a transport security agent for a Florida airport.

Civil Air Patrol, the official Air Force Auxiliary, is a nonprofit organization with almost 62,000 members nationwide. It performs 95% of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members take a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the almost 27,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 60 years.

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