Page 109 - Lubbock Senior Link Magazine Fall 2019- Online Magazine

Cobb’s War world war ii

Navy

and hundreds of rounds of .50 and .30 caliber
ammunition. He also found the skeletal remains
of six crew members who were among over 4,000
Navy fliers lost in accidents in the U.S. during
the war. The Lockheed PV-1 had been lost back
in August 1943 and was part of Cobb’s Squadron
VB-146. “I remember flying with two of those
guys earlier,” he recalled. That was to have been
their last training flight before deployment to
the Pacific. The pilot of the plane, LCDR Ralph
Beachum, had been a Pearl Harbor survivor.

When asked what he would like to be
remembered for, Cobb gave me an honest
answer. He said, “Lord, I don’t know how to
Bombing Squadron 146. The whole squadron answer that one.” As I said goodbye to Cobb
or their widows were presented the medals on and Wanda, she said, “Every one of these guys
the same day all over the country on September has a great story to tell.” I wholeheartedly agree.
28, 1996. He added that he married his wife “In
1943 in Flagstaff, Arizona while I was on leave,
before I went overseas. Lois took the train out
with Janette Lackey and met me there. We drove
back to Santa Monica where I was to be on duty
at 4 o’clock that day! I had known her since high
school. My daughter Barbara was 18 months old
before I ever saw her. I have another daughter
named Cathy.” Lois passed away in 1995.

Returning to Floydada, Cobb went back to
farming. “I bought some land near the Cedar
Hill community northeast of Floydada and
inherited some land.” I noticed a notepad
near Cobb’s phone, and the only name and
phone number written on the pad was Wanda
Williams. She has been his friend for over 20
years. I recalled that Wanda had gone on the
South Plains Honor flight with Carl back in
2012. She also lives in Floydada, so Cobb called
her to come over and visit. Wanda added that
Cobb has three grandchildren and four great
grandchildren.

Wanda remembered one other story that Cobb
had forgotten to tell. In October 1994, a local
hiker named Charles Eaton was hiking in a
remote area on 10,775-foot-high Mt. Baker
in northwest Washington. At an altitude of
7,500 feet, he found the remains of an aircraft
and crew. He found fragments from the plane

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