"Like 1,000 fireworks' nights": D-Day veteran gives talk at Millthorpe
A D-Day veteran gave an "inspirational" talk to students about his experiences during World War II.
Ken Cooke, who turns 100 this year, visited Millthorpe School to speak to 240 Year 9 students.
The visit was organised after Mr Cooke's granddaughter, who works at the school, mentioned that he was in Normandy for the 80th anniversary commemorations last year.
The visit was organised after a remark by Mr Cooke's granddaughter, who works at the school (Image: Supplied)
Assistant principal and teacher Adam Baybutt was eager to invite Mr Cooke to speak to the students.
The students had recently learned about D-Day as part of their history curriculum and were chosen to hear Mr Cooke's talk.
To prepare for the talk, the students investigated other D-Day readings, including one from a diary of another D-Day veteran, WM Christie, who is the great-great-grandfather of a current Year 9 student.
To prepare for the talk, the students investigated other D-Day readings (Image: Supplied)
Mr Cooke, who was called up aged 18, shared his experiences of being sent to basic training and arriving in Southampton on June 4, 1944, realising he was about to take part in something monumental.
He landed at Gold Beach at 7.45am on June 6, 1944, and despite his young age and lack of training, he recalls a sense of excitement.
He described the scene to be "like 1,000 fireworks' nights all at once.
"I don't know why I did it, but I just rested on the side and watched it all happen."
It was only when he learned of the tragic deaths of some of his friends that the enormity and danger of the situation began to sink in.
Mr Cooke later suffered a serious shrapnel wound and returned to Britain to recover.
Mr Cooke was called up at the age of 18 (Image: Supplied)
He returned to action in Germany, where he was injured for a second time towards the end of the war.
His hour-long talk concluded to "rapturous applause" from the students, who were deeply moved by his first-hand account.
He left the students with a powerful message for the future: "I want you to promise me now that you won't let what happened to me, happen to you.
"Can you promise me that?"
Mr Baybutt said: "It is difficult to put into words just how fortunate and privileged we feel at being able to welcome Mr Cooke into our school.
"This is undoubtedly a highlight of my 17-year career at Millthorpe.
"The students were impeccable and listened to Ken's talk with interest and complete respect."
Students from other year groups who did not attend the talk were invited to come along to the main hall at the end of the school day, and more than 80 students did so.
They waited patiently to meet Mr Cooke, shake his hand, ask pertinent questions, and even have a photo taken.
After the talk, many students wrote letters of thanks to Mr Cooke.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Hear that big BOOM? It could be the Tooele Army Depot detonating aging munitions
RUSH VALLEY, Tooele County — U.S. Army Col. Luke Clover promised a van full of reporters Wednesday that they will never forget the shock waves propagated by the open detonations that they had gathered to observe. The explosions, as the colonel promised, were loud. They were teeth-rattling. As good soldiers say: 'That's affirmative, sir.' But Wednesday's media day at the Tooele Army Depot — aka TEAD — was about more than sending local journalists back to their newsrooms with a fun and 'detonating' dispatch. Clover and his associates are anxious to share the purposes behind the army depot's open detonations that folks across multiple Utah counties often hear — and feel. 'We want to share with the community what's going on out here … and to let everyone know what's going on out here in support of the national defense and the United States Military,' said Clover, who commands the 83-year-old depot. Tooele Army Depot personnel, the colonel added, are performing essential missions. First, as part of the U.S. Army's Joint Munitions Command, the ammunitions base conducts safe and environmentally responsible destruction of surplus or obsolete ammunition. 'We have a lot of World War II-era munitions that come through here for demilitarization that are no longer useful. Or there are munitions here that have been deemed hazardous or unsafe to use for our service members,' said Clover. Tooele Army Depot also maintains munitions — performing surveillance tests to ensure that the military weapons are safe for use. 'And when they're found to be unsafe, unstable or not operating in the way that they're supposed to, then they're deemed ready for demilitarization,' added Clover. Disposing of obsolete munitions also frees up storage space for modern munitions. Established in 1942 while World War II was raging, the Tooele Army Depot is tasked with receiving, storing, maintaining, shipping, modifying and, of course, demilitarizing conventional munitions. The depot also specializes in ammunition equipment prototype design, development and fabrication. The weather and dry conditions found in Utah's West Desert region seems factory-made for the work being performed at the base. Some depots in other, more humid areas of the country must deal with moisture seeping into their earth-covered magazines and storage areas. 'But the environment here is perfect for that mission … to help maintain the longevity of the stockpiles,' said Clover. The region's natural environmental features can also help mitigate disasters, said Erin Trinchitella, Tooele Army Depot's industrial operations director. 'Part of our environment here, as you could see today, is soil,' she said. 'So if there is an accidental explosion, the soil here … helps absorb that.' Wednesday's media day occurred at a historic moment for the American military: Saturday, June 14, is the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. 'We are extremely proud of the job that we do in support of not only the Department of Defense's munitions enterprise mission, but also the overall mission of the United States Army and the other uniformed services: The U.S. Air Force, Navy, Space Force, Marines and Coast Guard,' said Clover. 'We work with all of them, and we handle and maintain the munitions for all of those services.' Depot officials say they are eager to be good neighbors in the Tooele County community and beyond. To help keep local officials and residents abreast of daily detonation activities, Tooele Army Depot dispatches frequent emails alerting local jurisdictions of the day's operations. Subsequent posts are added to the base's social media platforms — including Facebook, Instagram and X. There's even a 'noise complaint' hotline: 435-833-3300. 'We give people as much notice as possible that we are going to be detonating that day — and, along with that notification, we also include information for people to provide us with a noise report,' said public affairs officer Wade Matthews. 'We're not afraid to take that information … we can use that information for making adjustments, if necessary.' Lonnie Brown, Tooele Army Depot's environmental management division chief, said the depot works 'hand-in-hand' with Utah's Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army to ensure environmental protections. 'We have several audits to verify that we meet within our permit standards — and we're being reviewed several times a year to make sure that those standards are met,' said Brown. The depot also performs ecological studies to help protect local wildlife — while sponsoring several projects to benefit species such as the Burrowing owls. Tooele Army Depot also works with the EPA to test and monitor groundwater wells. 'We find that there's no significant impact on these wells,' said Brown. On Wednesday, reporters were given a rare glimpse of the lunar-like landscapes that double as explosion pits — and the precise task of preparing obsolete munitions for destruction. Crews prepare the 'donor' munitions before burying it in the explosion pit under at least seven feet of soil. The range area is then cleared and firing lines are tied and finalized. Detonation specialists, safely housed in a 'shooter shack' located several hundred meters away from the blast site, manage all of the firing lines utilizing a lock box that's connected to a firing panel, which triggers the detonation. Specialists executed several detonations Wednesday, with the 'assistance' of several reporters.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Hear that big BOOM? It could be the Tooele Army Depot detonating aging munitions
RUSH VALLEY, Tooele County — U.S. Army Col. Luke Clover promised a van full of reporters Wednesday that they will never forget the shock waves propagated by the open detonations that they had gathered to observe. The explosions, as the colonel promised, were loud. They were teeth-rattling. As good soldiers say: 'That's affirmative, sir.' But Wednesday's media day at the Tooele Army Depot — aka TEAD — was about more than sending local journalists back to their newsrooms with a fun and 'detonating' dispatch. Clover and his associates are anxious to share the purposes behind the army depot's open detonations that folks across multiple Utah counties often hear — and feel. 'We want to share with the community what's going on out here … and to let everyone know what's going on out here in support of the national defense and the United States Military,' said Clover, who commands the 83-year-old depot. Tooele Army Depot personnel, the colonel added, are performing essential missions. First, as part of the U.S. Army's Joint Munitions Command, the ammunitions base conducts safe and environmentally responsible destruction of surplus or obsolete ammunition. 'We have a lot of World War II-era munitions that come through here for demilitarization that are no longer useful. Or there are munitions here that have been deemed hazardous or unsafe to use for our service members,' said Clover. Tooele Army Depot also maintains munitions — performing surveillance tests to ensure that the military weapons are safe for use. 'And when they're found to be unsafe, unstable or not operating in the way that they're supposed to, then they're deemed ready for demilitarization,' added Clover. Disposing of obsolete munitions also frees up storage space for modern munitions. Established in 1942 while World War II was raging, the Tooele Army Depot is tasked with receiving, storing, maintaining, shipping, modifying and, of course, demilitarizing conventional munitions. The depot also specializes in ammunition equipment prototype design, development and fabrication. The weather and dry conditions found in Utah's West Desert region seems factory-made for the work being performed at the base. Some depots in other, more humid areas of the country must deal with moisture seeping into their earth-covered magazines and storage areas. 'But the environment here is perfect for that mission … to help maintain the longevity of the stockpiles,' said Clover. The region's natural environmental features can also help mitigate disasters, said Erin Trinchitella, Tooele Army Depot's industrial operations director. 'Part of our environment here, as you could see today, is soil,' she said. 'So if there is an accidental explosion, the soil here … helps absorb that.' Wednesday's media day occurred at a historic moment for the American military: Saturday, June 14, is the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. 'We are extremely proud of the job that we do in support of not only the Department of Defense's munitions enterprise mission, but also the overall mission of the United States Army and the other uniformed services: The U.S. Air Force, Navy, Space Force, Marines and Coast Guard,' said Clover. 'We work with all of them, and we handle and maintain the munitions for all of those services.' Depot officials say they are eager to be good neighbors in the Tooele County community and beyond. To help keep local officials and residents abreast of daily detonation activities, Tooele Army Depot dispatches frequent emails alerting local jurisdictions of the day's operations. Subsequent posts are added to the base's social media platforms — including Facebook, Instagram and X. There's even a 'noise complaint' hotline: 435-833-3300. 'We give people as much notice as possible that we are going to be detonating that day — and, along with that notification, we also include information for people to provide us with a noise report,' said public affairs officer Wade Matthews. 'We're not afraid to take that information … we can use that information for making adjustments, if necessary.' Lonnie Brown, Tooele Army Depot's environmental management division chief, said the depot works 'hand-in-hand' with Utah's Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army to ensure environmental protections. 'We have several audits to verify that we meet within our permit standards — and we're being reviewed several times a year to make sure that those standards are met,' said Brown. The depot also performs ecological studies to help protect local wildlife — while sponsoring several projects to benefit species such as the Burrowing owls. Tooele Army Depot also works with the EPA to test and monitor groundwater wells. 'We find that there's no significant impact on these wells,' said Brown. On Wednesday, reporters were given a rare glimpse of the lunar-like landscapes that double as explosion pits — and the precise task of preparing obsolete munitions for destruction. Crews prepare the 'donor' munitions before burying it in the explosion pit under at least seven feet of soil. The range area is then cleared and firing lines are tied and finalized. Detonation specialists, safely housed in a 'shooter shack' located several hundred meters away from the blast site, manage all of the firing lines utilizing a lock box that's connected to a firing panel, which triggers the detonation. Specialists executed several detonations Wednesday, with the 'assistance' of several reporters.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum WWII panel features two veterans' tales of valor
Driving rain fell with the ferocity of machinegun fire while thunder bombarded the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force's rotunda as if it were distant air strike's. Yet, the elements could not overcome the power of the stories being told by World War II veteran airmen 1st Lieutenant Kenneth Beckman and Staff Sergeant Bruce Cook during the museum's 5th Annual WWII panel. Sean O'Dwyer, the museum's education program manager and panel moderator, said while all four panelists from last year's event were alive, Beckman, 102, and Cook, 99, were the only two who could make the trip. Beckman, originally from Northampton, Massachusetts, now hails from St. Petersburg, Florida. Cook lives in West Columbia, South Carolina. The two told stories about close calls, fellow crewmen's practical jokes and harrowing missions. They did so to the best of their recollections, which were much better than they let on, particularly Beckman's as many of his stories were accompanied by the exact date of the mission. The panel was one portion of Sunday's events, which were part of four days of Memorial Day events that the museum planned in honor of the 26,000 airmen of the Eighth Airforce who never returned from WWII. More of the museum's Flags for the Fallen events have been planned for Monday, May 26. O'Dwyer asked the two centenarians a series of questions, helping them call up long dormant moments from their pasts. He started by asking what they were doing when Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. Cook said he was 16 and standing in a doorway when someone came by saying that the Hawaiian naval station had been bombed. "And to me, that didn't mean a whole lot," he said because he had never heard of it before. Beckman actually resigned from the Naval Academy because his roommate's grandfather was a doctor with the with the Navy, and he had heard that a war with Japan was "just around the corner." So he signed up with the Army Air Corp in November of 1941. For him, Dec. 7 of that year started like any other day until about 4 p.m. when he heard what had happened at Pearl Harbor. Beckman went on to serve as a navigator within the 305th Bomb Group while Cook was a waist/ball gunner and toggler for the 379th. Beckman attributed his desire to be an aviator to his first flying experience when he was five years old. The manager of Northampton airport knew his father and invited Beckman for a ride in a two-seater airplane. During the war, he went on 48 missions over two tours. He signed up for a second tour after he decided he wanted to become a permanent officer. He flew with two U.S. presidents, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. Beckman described two close calls he had in service. One involved a German pilot who flew his Messerschmitt Me 262 "absolutely vertical" 20 feet off the right wing, so close Beckman could see he was blond with glasses and a white scarf. "I guess I saw him for all of a split second," he said, but he never forgot it. Another close call occurred when his crew's right wing engine had been hit and caught fire. He called that a death notice because a fire usually proceeded an explosion, which typically meant crew members had five to 10 seconds to grab a parachute and jump. In that moment, he secured his parachute and dangled his feet out the escape hatch and then he heard a copilot tell everyone the fire was out. He did not have to jump. Had he jumped he would have done so over enemy territory and undoubtedly been taken as a prisoner of war. Cook could not recall ever being scared beyond his first mission when he told a peer he could not get into the ball turret with his parachute on. The peer said that they could leave his parachute aside and if they got shot down maybe he could get up and grab it in time. Cook was then worried the whole four hours and fifteen minutes of that first, and likely his shortest, mission. Beyond that, he did not recall being scared very much in the air. He did remember a time when a plane ahead of his caught fire. The flames streamed behind it so much that a crewman on his plane thought their plane had caught fire and a miscommunication led another crewman to grab his chute and jump out over enemy territory. Cook told another story of how he shot at an approaching fighter, taking him out. Later the other gunner on the plane also claimed to have shot the enemy fighter down. When the crew got back to base they flipped a coin to see who would claim the hit. "Malone won," he said. Years later when he looked at the military records it only stated that a bomber shot down a fighter, giving no particular airman credit. Both Cook and Beckman flew dozens of missions throughout their tours of duty. Cook joked that officers and enlisted men such as himself did not always hang out during the war, but it was an honor to be speaking with Beckman about their experiences and the men they served with. Beckman and Cook, while grateful for the museum's recognition, deflected any praise heaped upon them. When asked to reflect on Memorial Day's meaning, Cook said he did not deserve the praise that the museum and community were giving him. To underscore the point of the holiday, he recollected one more story of a fellow airman who was less fortunate. During the war, a young man Cook referred to as Albert was moved to another plane to make way for Cook's return to his crew. Cook said on Albert's first mission with the new crew their plane was shot down. Albert and others bailed out over enemy territory while the crew's pilot went down with the plane. For Beckman, Memorial Day is an "opportunity for me to think about the fellows that didn't make it, they were the real heroes." He then paused before expressing that he was at a loss for words "to describe how wonderful life can be when the world is at peace." Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at JSchwartzburt@ and JoeInTheKnow_SMN on Instagram. This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum WWII panel features two veterans