Editing Nathan E. Cook (section)

==Biography==

===Military career===
Cook was born on October 10, 1885, in [[Hersey, Michigan]]. He left a 50-cent-a-day job at a packing plant in a city from [[Kansas]]. He lied about his age (then 15) in order to join the Navy on April 9, 1901,<ref name="Military Hall of Honor, LLC">{{cite web |title=LT Nathan E. Cook |url=https://militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=2372 |website=Military Hall of Honor |access-date=21 February 2021}}</ref> after he saw a recruiting poster which said, "Join the Navy and See the World." He was assigned to the [[USS Pensacola (1859)|USS ''Pensacola'']].

He served during the [[Philippine–American War]], which began shortly after the [[First Philippine Republic]] had been declared. The Philippine–American War lasted from 1899 until July 4, 1902 – one year after Cook's enlistment in the Navy.

Cook also saw service in the [[Boxer Rebellion]] and clashes along the U.S.–[[Mexico]] border.

After 12 and a half years of service as an enlisted man, he was appointed to the warrant officer rank of [[boatswain]] on January 11, 1913.<ref>Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, January 1, 1917.</ref>

During the [[World War I|First World War]] he commanded a [[submarine chaser]] that sank two German [[U-boat]]s.

Cook was promoted on August 15, 1918, to the temporary rank of lieutenant and was given command of the tugboat [[USS Favorite (SP-1385)|USS ''Favorite'']] on the 21st of the same month.<ref>Navy Register, 1919. p. 100.</ref>

Cook received a [[Commendation Medal|letter of commendation]] from the [[Secretary of the Navy]] for his role in salvaging the [[USS Narragansett (SP-2196)|USS ''Narragansett'']] in February 1919. The text of his commendation reads: "As Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. ''Favorite'' he took a conspicuous and creditable part in the operation of salvaging the U.S.S. ''Narragansett''."<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/navybookdisting00strigoog/navybookdisting00strigoog_djvu.txt "The Navy book of distinguished service; an official compendium of the names and citations of the men of the United States Navy, Marine corps, Army and foreign governments who were decorated by the Navy department for extraordinary gallantry and conspicuous service above and beyond the call of duty in the world war"] p. 189.</ref>

After the First World War, Cook was reduced to his permanent rank of Boatswain and then promoted to Chief Boatswain on January 11, 1919.<ref>''Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps'', July 1, 1941. p. 340.</ref>

During the early days of [[World War II]], Cook was stationed at Port-au-Prince [[Haiti]] and in [[Panama]].  As of November 1, 1940 he was the executive officer of the [[USS Anne Arundel (AP-76)|SS ''Mormacyork'']] which served as a transport between the United States and South America.<ref>''Navy Directory'', November 1, 1940. p. 41.</ref>

Cook retired on April 1, 1942, after 40 years in the Navy.  He was promoted to the permanent rank of lieutenant the same day in recognition of his service in the First World War.<ref>''U.S. Navy Register'', 1947.</ref> He once said his Navy life was tough but that it beat living on his [[Missouri]] farm. During his naval career, Cook's shipmates nicknamed him "Northeast," derived from his first two initials.

===Personal life===
Cook's father, William Cook, had died in 1895. His mother Ellen later remarried and the family moved to [[Kansas City, Missouri]].

Cook met his wife, Elizabeth (1887–1982) in [[New York (state)|New York]] in 1901 and they married on October 29, 1905. Elizabeth died two weeks before what would have been their 77th wedding anniversary in 1982. Cook spent his last years at the residential section of the VA hospital in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], Arizona and was buried beside his wife at the [[National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona]].