South Carolina S 954: Sgt. Bruce Cook awarded the French Legion of Honor from WWII

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 954 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 24, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 954

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A senate RESOLUTION

TO RECOGNIZE 
UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCE STAFF SERGEANT PHILLIP BRUCE COOK FOR HIS BRAVERY 
AND SERVICE DURING WORLD WAR II AND TO CONGRATULATE HIM ON HIS NOMINATION BY 
FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON AS A CHEVALIER IN THE ORDRE NATIONAL DE LA 
LEGION D'HONNEUR, THE HIGHEST AND MOST PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL HONOR OF MERIT TO 
REWARD THOSE WHO HAVE DONE GREAT DEEDS FOR FRANCE.

Whereas, conceived over 
two centuries ago by Napoléon Bonaparte, Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur 
was created to reward eminent military and civil merits in the service of 
France and is divided into five degrees with the majority of the recipients classified 
as a "Chevalier" or Knight. To receive the honor, a World War II veteran must 
show engagement in combat operations on land, in the air above, or within the 
territorial waters of France, and undergo a comprehensive examination of the 
veteran's military record and post-war life experiences; and

Whereas, immediately 
following graduation from Swansea High School in 1943, at the age of seventeen, 
Phillip Bruce Cook enlisted in the Army Air Force on June 28, 1943, little 
imagining the impact his life would have on people he did not know. At eighteen, 
he began basic training at Keesler Army Airfield in Biloxi, Mississippi, and 
once completed, he received additional training as an aerial gunner. Following 
deployment overseas, he was assigned to the 524th Bomber Squadron, 379th Bomb 
Group, 8th Air Force, based at RAF Kimbolton in Cambridgeshire, England; and

Whereas, Staff Sergeant 
Cook flew 35 combat missions aboard a B-17 "Flying Fortress" as a crewman 
assigned primarily to man the aircraft's ball turret gun position, which 
protected the belly of the 4-engine bomber, with his first mission on August 
30, 1944, when the group bombarded the German submarine Pens at Pas-de-Calais 
as well as the V1 "Buzz Bomb" rocket launching sites at Fiefs, France, not far 
from Calais; and

Whereas, the 379th Bomb 
Group's primary objective was to bombard enemy rail yards, airfields, 
factories, communication centers, synthetic fuel factories, rocket sites, and 
enemy troop concentrations within France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Holland, 
including during the Battle of France, when the 379th bombed enemy positions to 
assist ground troops throughout France from Normandy through the breakthrough 
beyond St. Lo. As the war progressed, the group attacked German communications 
and fortifications within Germany itself, and during the Battle of the Bulge 
and beyond, the group bombed bridges and viaducts in France and Germany to aid 
the Allied assault across the Rhine River; and

Whereas, the combat 
record of the 379th was the most successful of all the 8th Air Force heavy 
bomber groups. The unit held records as far as bomb tonnage dropped, dropping 
26,459 tons, and exceeded all other United Kingdom-based Bomb Groups in the 
total number of missions flown, carrying out 330 missions between May 1943 and 
May 1945; and

Whereas, now a 
centenarian, Staff Sergeant Cook was awarded the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf 
Clusters; the Army Good Conduct Medal; the European African Middle East 
Campaign Medal with 4 Campaign Stars for Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, 
and Rhineland; and the World War II Victory Medal. After his honorable 
discharge on October 18, 1945, he returned to Lexington and attended a trade 
school to learn watch and clock repair, working as a technician for numerous 
jewelry stores before opening his own shop in 1963, and retiring in 1983. He 
has two children, Peggy and Phil; and

Whereas, upon learning 
that his application was approved for the prestigious French Legion d'honneur, 
he reflected, "Never would I have thought that what I did in WWII would mean so 
much, not only for the United States, but for those who had to endure years of 
enemy occupation. I was glad to have done my part, just one of the millions who 
proudly wore our nation's uniform." Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate:

That the members of the 
South Carolina Senate, by this resolution, 
recognize United States Army Air Force Staff Sergeant Phillip Bruce Cook for 
his bravery and service during World War II and congratulate him on his nomination 
by French President Emmanuel Macron as a Chevalier in the Ordre national de la Legion 
d'honneur, the highest and most prestigious national honor of merit to reward 
those who have done great deeds for France.

Be it further resolved 
that a copy of this resolution be presented to Phillip Bruce Cook.

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This web page was last updated on February 24, 2026 at 01:18 PM