Francis E. Cooke was born on March 4, 1924, in Newell, Buena Vista County, Iowa. He was the son of Edward W. Cooke and Mary M. Mackey Cooke. He served with the 614th Bomber Squadron, 401st Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Pilot of B-17 #42-97872, nicknamed "Rosie's Sweat Box" during World War II.

On September 17, 1944, the crew of Rosie’s Sweat Box, B-17G 42-97872 (IW-A), prepared to fly from Deenethorpe, England, on a mission supporting the Allied airborne landings in the Netherlands. Their target was a wooded area near Groesbeek where German tanks and gun positions had been reported. Fifty-one crews of the 401st Bomb Group had been briefed before dawn. Piloted by 2nd Lt. Francis E. Cooke, Rosie’s Sweat Box stalled during takeoff. It failed to clear the hedge beyond the runway and crashed near the Weldon–Oundle road at about 6:06 a.m., roughly 750 yards past the runway’s end. Its fuel and fragmentation bombs exploded. Eight airmen died in the crash; tail gunner Cpl. Walter J. Ambrogetti was found alive but died of his injuries later that day. All nine crew members were lost before the aircraft reached the Netherlands.

2Lt Cooke is now buried in the Mount Zion Catholic Cemetery, Fonda, Pocahontas County, Iowa, USA.

Sources of information: www.findagrave.com, 401bg.org