Myers-Snell Family

NI1558

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Newspaper in Waynesboro, Virginia.
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Among Iwo's casualties, a grandfather never know - by Charles Culbertson, special writer.
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"The night of February 18, 1945, was heavy with danger. A massive American armada rocked at anchor within shelling distance of the tiny, Japanese-held island of Iwo Jima, waiting to disgorge 60,000 U.S. Marines onto what would soon become thebloodiest battlefield in Marine Corps history. While the Japanese navy and air force were mere shadows of their former selves, they were still deadly and stalked the armada relentlessly, looking to inflict death and damage wherever they could.
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Protect the task force carrying its precious cargo of Marines; that was the order of the evening. Because the carriers and other large ships were vulnerable, smaller vessels such as the destroyers USS Dortch and USS Cotton were dispatched torun interference for the tsk force and draw enemy fire.
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Aboard the Dortch was a friendly, fun-loving native of Avon, Virginia, who just four days earlier had celebrated his 29th birthday. On the evening of Feb. 18, First Class Boatswain's Mate Carlton H. Cook took his position at battle stations. Soon, the ship's radar picked up two "bogeys" heading toward the task force. The Dortch sailed to investigate.
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Nearing one of the sightings, the Dortch tore away the darkness with its 36-inch spotlights and found that she had come upon a much larger Japanese cruiser. The cruiser suddenly opened fire, sending 3-inch armor-piercing shells slamming intothe Dortch.
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One of the shells exploded near Cook's battle station. His wife, eight months pregnant at the time, soon received the news that her husband had been killed in action.
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Forty-one years later, Cook's family and descendants learned what happened to him.
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"My grandmother had always wanted to know exactly what happend," said Gary Cook of Staunton, Carlton Cook's grandson. "Through 'Disabled Veterans' magazine, she put out feelers to anyone who might have known her husband. The man who wrote backto her was the sailor who had awakened my grandfather to go on watch that night."
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The shipmate told her that, judging by the position in which her husband was found, he had apparently tried to shield his buddies from shrapnel after the armor-piercing round hit.
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"Although he didn't take part in the ground action, his blood and the blood of many others helped pave the road to Iwo Jima." said Cook.
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Carlton Cook posthumously received the Purple Heart, Asian-pacific Campaign medal, American Campaign medal and World War II Victory medal.
Given names Surname Sosa Birth Place Death Age Place Last change
102 0 79 23 Never