Captain R.P. Cox

459th Bomb Squadron, 330th Bomb Group

To say that Cox had quite the interesting time in the war would probably be an understatement. First, Cox is one of the distinguished men to fight in both the European and Pacific Theater of the war. And while he flew heavy bombers in both theaters, what’s even more interesting is that during his training, he was assigned to the 54th Fighter Group in Florida and was a fighter pilot receiving tactical training in a P-51 Mustang! While we may never know his full and unique story, he began his combat flying B-17’s in October 1943 with the 94th Bomb Group, leaving in April of 1944. After being stateside for some time, he left for the Pacific in April of 1945 and joined the 459th BS, 330th BG where he flew B-29’s. He was assigned as the aircraft commander to crew 908 in the group. Originally assigned to the B-29 K-59 in the group, named ‘Ole Smoker’, this aircraft went down and was lost with another crew on a mission. They then took over B-29 K-55, and renamed it ‘Ole Smoker II’ and ‘City of Miami Beach’, in accordance with the Group directive. Cox ended the war as a Captain, with 553 combat hours. He was awarded the Air Medal with 6 oak leaf clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross with 1 oak leaf cluster.

Included are several photos and documents from both his time in the 94th and 330th Bomb Group, including his service separation papers and mission photos.