Memorial Day Memories of a World War II hero

When Sam Cohen graduated from high school in 1942, he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

Since childhood, his passion had been building model airplanes out of balsa wood.  In a few years, he had quite a collection of these model planes, which competed with books for space on his bookshelves.  The airplanes won out.

Shortly after graduating from high school, Sam enlisted in the Army Air Corps, hoping to become a pilot.  Unfortunately, his eyesight wasn’t good enough, but because of his strong math skills, he was trained to be a navigator.

Sam received his diploma in aerial navigation in Casper, Wyoming, and shortly afterward he was assigned to the U.S. Air Force base in Norwich, England.  His airplane was a B-24 bomber (The Liberator), which was a four-engine aircraft. His assignment, alongside the rest of the crew, was to bomb the oil fields in Hamburg, Germany.

During Sam’s 34th mission, his aircraft suffered severe flak damage in an attack by German airplanes.  As a result, the crew immediately broke formation and continued alone, without the benefit of a fighter escort.

Unable to land in emergency fields behind Allied lines, Flight Officer Cohen successfully guided the aircraft back to England, where it crash-landed in Norwich.  Luckily, the crew members suffered only minor burns and injuries, since the gas tank was almost empty.  All crew members walked off the plane.

As a result of the strong teamwork between the pilot and the navigator, Sam received the Distinguished Flying Cross, along with six bronze clusters.

After the war, Sam, with the help of the GI bill, attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and graduated with a degree in civil engineering.  He worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until his retirement, at which time he and his wife, Ellen, moved to Florida to be near one of their daughters.

Sam was my second-oldest brother and the age difference is great.  I was too young to ask him questions when he returned home from serving in the military, and by the time I was ready to ask, he was already married and working full time, and didn’t want to discuss it.

Sam is gone now, and I have many questions that will never be answered by him.  I should have been more persistent when he was alive.

HELEN KAGAN lives in Providence and is a member of Temple Emanu-El. She is a retired high school teacher and is involved in the Harvard Lifelong learning program.