This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Sgt Duane Kimbrow (Skip)
to remember
Cope, Troy Gordon, Capt.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Norfork
Last Address Dandong, China
Casualty Date Sep 16, 1952
Cause MIA-Finding of Death
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Land
Location China
Conflict Korean War
Location of Interment Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery (VA) - Dallas, Texas
Captain Cope was one of four brothers who served in WWII. He served in the Aleutians and Alaska.
Afterwards, he remained in the Reserves, went to University of Arkansas, taught in Arkansas, and was recalled to service in Korea in 1950.
In Korea, he served with the 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. He was lost in while flying an F-86F (#51-2909.
The circumstances of his loss: After several encounters with enemy fighter aircraft while participating in a fighter sweep operations along the Yalu, Captain Cope radioed that his ammunition was exhausted. Accompanied by another flight member, he headed downstream on a course south of the Manchurian border and parallel to the Yalu. Approximately 10 miles south of Antung, two flights of MIGs were sighted and, while maneuvering to attack, the accompanying pilot noticed three other enemy aircraft in the area. He promptly radioed this information to Captain Cope who acknowledged the message.
Because of the prevailing conditions, the two F-86s became separated. Efforts to re-establish visual or radio contact with Captain Cope were unsuccessful. An extensive aerial search revealed no traces of Captain Cope or his aircraft."
His aircraft was shot down near Andung, China and he was listed as MIA. His dog tag was found in China, and after negotiations and an archaelogic exploration the aircraft and Cope's remains were found.
He was interred in the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery 31 May 2005.
"During a search by Pentagon analysts of Russia's Podolsk military archives in 1999, documents describing Cope's downing on September 16, 1952 were discovered. They included statements and drawings by Russian pilots who had flown the MIG-15s for the North Koreans. The documents contained detailed reports on a search of the crash site by Russian and Chinese officials, giving the Pentagon enough detail to ask the Chinese government for permission to send a team of U.S. specialists to investigate. U.S. Officials found aircraft debris and human remains there in May 2004. Cope, who was 28 when he was shot down, left behind a wife and three young sons." Source: http://www.koreanwarexpow.org/info/jpac2005.html
Comments/Citation Notes/Links:
http://sabre-pilots.org/classics/v121mia.htm http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11008224 http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/03/03/missing.pilot/ (7 March 2007 edition) http://www.koreanwarexpow.org/info/jpac2005.html http://www.koreanwar.org/html/korean_war_project_remembrance.html http://www.nationalalliance.org/korea/korea08.htm http://www.kwva.org/pow_mia/p_050603_gordie_cope.htm http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3418_warplane.html http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/arts/television/18webs.html http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/03/03/missing.pilot/ (details of the discovery of his remains, etc.)
Korean War Aces By Robert F. Dorr, Jon Lake, Warren Thompson, pp. 65-66 (addresses his last mission. Interview with Captain Clifford Jolley)
