Cook, Dennis Philip
Navy Lieutenant

Dennis Philip Cook, age 29, from Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, April 6, 1966
Death details:  Lieutenant Dennis Philip Cook, who joined the U.S. Navy from California, was a member of Attack Squadron 212, embarked aboard the USS Hancock (CVA 19). On April 6, 1966, he piloted a single-seat A-4E Skyhawk (bureau number 152052, call sign “Flying Eagle”) that was preparing for a night catapult launch from the deck of the Hancock. A malfunction during the launch prevented LT Cook’s aircraft from gaining sufficient speed, and it crashed into the water forward of the ship, in the vicinity of (GC) 49Q AV 850 900. Lieutenant Cook was not seen to bail out of the aircraft before it hit the water. The crash site was immediately searched but searchers found no sign of LT Cook, and further attempts to locate him were unsuccessful. Today, Lieutenant Cook is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency