World Battlefronts: What It's Like

Like millions of other kids fighting the war, Seaman Jack Cooper had his next leave mapped out. He was going back to Elkhart, Ind., marry his girl Helen (he called her "Big Eyes"), put away some home-cooked meals. Like tens of thousands of others, Cooper never made it. Radioman on a Navy torpedo plane, he was shot down in the Pacific by the Japs, drifted for "weeks alone on a rubber raft. More than a month later a Navy vessel found the frail craft with Cooper's body and on paper leaves in his wallet a record of what a kid thinks...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!