A Guide to the Martin L. Cook Photograph Collection, ca. 1930- ca.1945
A Collection in the
Thomas Balch Library
Collection Number VC 0022
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Thomas Balch Library
Thomas Balch Library208 West Market Street
Leesburg, Virginia 20176
USA
Phone: (703) 737-7195
Fax: (703) 737-7195
Email: balchlib@leesburgva.gov
URL: http://www.leesburgva.gov/departments/thomas-balch-library/
© 2006 By Thomas Balch Library. All rights reserved.
Processed by: Beth Schuster




Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Collection open for research.
Use Restrictions
No physical characteristics affect use of this material.
Preferred Citation
Martin
L.
Cook
Photograph Collection (VC 0022), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.
Acquisition Information
Doreen C. Hope
Accruals
2008.0033
Processing Information
Processed by Beth Schuster, 22 April 2008
Biographical Information
Martin
Leslie
Cook
was born on 1 April 1923, the second child of J. Leslie and Bertha
Cook
. Throughout his childhood in Purcellville, Virginia, he was fascinated with mechanics and airplanes. One of the most memorable
events of his youth was a plane ride his grandfather, Joe
Cook
, paid for him and two sisters to take when he was five or six.
Martin
was valedictorian in the 1940 graduating class of Loudoun County Training School in Leesburg, the only African-American secondary
school in Loudoun County. After graduation, he worked as a painter and carpenter with his father in Purcellville.
In November 1942, Cook
enlisted in the army and passed the entrance examination for the U.S. Army Aviation Cadet Program, which allowed him to enroll
in Tuskegee Army Flying School, the recently-created military aviation school for African-Americans. He graduated in April
1944, received his Army commission and was assigned to 477th Bombardment Group, 618th Bomb Squadron. However,
Cook
never saw combat. While en route to France in the spring of 1945, an armistice was signed and his services as a fighter
pilot were no longer needed. He later remembered this as the biggest disappointment of his life.
Cook
resigned from the Army Air Corp at the end of November 1945 to pursue a degree in aeronautical engineering from The Catholic
University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C. While enrolled in school, he worked at Fluid Mechanics Division of the National
Bureau of Standard. After graduating in 1953,
Cook
was employed for thirty-two years with the U.S. Navy in the Department of Defense as an aeronautical engineer. He retired
at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 1976, and from the Department of Defense in 1983. In
retirement, he continued to pursue his passion for mechanics, including working on his automobiles.
Cook
was an avid reader and, at the time of his death, was conducting research in the National Archives for a book on the careers
of Tuskegee graduates.
While attending CUA, he boarded at the home of his future wife's sister. On 14 November 1953, he and Evelyn Alice Lucas married.
They had four children: Daryl Andrew Cook
, Deborah Leslie
Cook
Moten, Doreen Lynn
Cook
Hope, and
Martin
Leslie
Cook
, Jr.
Cook
was an active member of the Seventh Day Adventist church. Among the congregations to which he belonged were Brotherhood
and Capital Memorial, both in Washington, D.C.
Martin
Leslie
Cook
died on 24 October 2002, and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery on 6 December 2002.
Scope and Content
The five photographs in this collection depict Martin
Cook
at various stages in his life. Three of the photographs date from his training and service with the United States Army Air
Corps.
Adjunct Descriptive Data
Bibliography
"Desegregation of the Armed Forces: Chronology," Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/desegregation/large/#1947, accessed 12 March 2008.
Hope, Doreen Cook
, interview by Beth Schuster, 26 March 2008.
Moten, Deborah Cook
, interview by Beth Schuster, 14 April 2008.
"Selective Training and Service Act of 1940," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Training_and_Service_Act_of_1940, accessed 12 March 2008.
Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/Home.html, accessed 14 March 2008.
"Tuskegee Airmen," National Museum of the USAF, http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1356, accessed 12 March 2008.
Vertical File, Schools - Douglass High School, Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.
Location of Originals
originals retained by Doreen C. Hope
Other Finding Aid
Past Perfect catalog records
Technical Requirements
Electronic media
Other Finding Aid
Past Perfect catalog records
Bibliography
"Desegregation of the Armed Forces: Chronology," Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/desegregation/large/#1947, accessed 12 March 2008.
Hope, Doreen Cook
, interview by Beth Schuster, 26 March 2008.
Moten, Deborah Cook
, interview by Beth Schuster, 14 April 2008.
"Selective Training and Service Act of 1940," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Training_and_Service_Act_of_1940, accessed 12 March 2008.
Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/Home.html, accessed 14 March 2008.
"Tuskegee Airmen," National Museum of the USAF, http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1356, accessed 12 March 2008.
Vertical File, Schools - Douglass High School, Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.