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Remember...Basil Marion Cook
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Basil Marion Cook was born November 11, 1913, in the small community of Bertha in Summers County, West Virginia. His parents were Harvey Green Cook and Rachel Mize Cook. Basil had one older brother, Homer L. Cook. He also had four sisters: Eleanor W. Cook (married name: Bandy), Bessie F. Cook (married name: Ellis), Mamie H. Cook (married name: Taylor), and Lessie M. Cook (married name: McClung). Federal Census documents for Basil Cook (1930 and 1940) show him to be an unpaid family worker or farm laborer. But his life would change dramatically in the early 1940s.
While Basil's draft card (October 16, 1940) states that he was unemployed, Basil's U.S. Army enlistment record (November 18, 1943) notes that he had completed grammar school and was employed in "semiskilled occupations in production of industrial chemicals." This fact is corroborated by his marriage certificate, which indicates he was a plant worker. On July 18, 1941, he, along with his intended Ila Ruth Light, would apply for a marriage license in the Commonwealth of Virginia at Pearisburg. (After Basil's demise, Ila would remarry and take the surname Higginbotham.)
| Assigned to the 32nd Regiment, 3rd Armored Division, Private First Class Cook was trained as a tank crew member at Fort Knox, Kentucky. In 1944, he was headed to Europe where he was first stationed in England and then saw action in Belgium and Germany. [Given that the dates and place of his training do not coincide with his unit, it's possible he was replacing personnel in a unit that was highly depleted due to fierce fighting.] On November 25, 1944, he was driving an M-4 Sherman tank when his unit engaged with German forces near Hucheln, Germany. Detonated beneath the tank, a land mine exploded and almost certainly killed Cook immediately. However, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, his remains were not recovered or identified after the incident, and Cook was initially listed as MIA. While the American Graves Registration Command inquired about remains of soldiers missing in Europe, the search was unproductive. For decades, Pfc. Cook was listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery at Margraten. But in 2020, two amazing things happened. First, a DPAA historian learned of a set of unidentified remains from a burned-out tank near Hucheln, Germany. Second, these remains were disinterred and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Using anthropological analyses, circumstantial evidence, and a comparison of DNA from a Cook relative, Pfc. Cook was finally identified in late 2024. (Summarized from: Rick Steelhammer, "Remains of Hinton WWII GI Returned, To Be Buried Wednesday," Charleston Gazette-Mail, 5 August 2025.) |  Reflecting Pool at Netherlands American Cemetery (Margraten), photo courtesy of American Battle Monuments Commission. Prior to his remains being identified, Pfc. Cook was listed on the Tablets of the Missing at Margraten, where a rosette will now be placed by his name to indicate he has been recovered. |
The operations of the 32nd Armored Regiment of the 3rd Armored Division in World War II have been carefully documented by the division veterans' association. Briefly, the regiment was activated April 15, 1941, at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana. It soon moved to Fort Polk, Louisiana, where the bulk of its cadre received their basic training and learned to operate the tanks of the time. In July 1942, the division moved to the Mohave Desert for training in desert warfare. In early 1943, the division moved to Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. Then, in August of that year, they were alerted for overseas service and moved to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. By September of 1943, they were headed for Europe, first stop being a camp in Wiltshire-Codford in England. Although they had prepared for D-Day, they crossed to Normandy in mid-June entered combat on June 29, 1944. The division fought until April 24, 1945, and then played a role in the relocation of displaced persons in the occupation of Germany. (Association of 3d Armored Division Veterans, "32nd Armor[ed] Regiment," updated 16 March 2011, accessed 14 August 2025, https://www.3ad.org/unitpages.cfm?subpage=4903.)
By the time Pfc. Basil Cook's remains were returned to the family, none of his siblings were alive. His extended family does include, however, two nephews and two nieces. On August 6, 2025, he came to his final home at the Restwood Memorial Gardens, in Hinton, Mercer County. A Purple Heart recipient, he was buried with full military honors.
Article prepared by Patricia Richards McClure
August 2025
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
