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Henry Oren Cox Jr.

Henry Oren Cox Jr.

April 22, 2026

headshot photo of Henry Oren Cox Jr.

Rank: 1st Lieutenant
Branch: Army Air Corps
UT Major/Affiliation: Engineering - 1941-1942
Hometown: Maryville, TN

  • Jan. 28, 1921 – Sept. 16, 1943
  • Maryville, Tennessee
  • George Field, Illinois
  • Engineering – 1941-1942
  • 1st Lt. – Army Air Corps
  • 562nd Bomb Sq, 388th Bomber Grp, 8th AF. B-17F Pilot. KIA over Wales
    • Bombing mission to U-Boat pens and Luftwaffe installations at La Pallice, part of the port at LaRochelle, France
    • Crashed in the Welsh Black Mountains
  • Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in Cambridgeshire, England
    • Memorial marker at Crossville City Cemetery and at Llanyre, Wales

Henry Oren Cox, Jr,. (Jan. 28, 1921 – Sept. 16, 1943) was born in Maryville, Tennessee, and grew up in Cumberland County, Tennessee, graduating from Cumberland High School in 1940. He attended the University of Tennessee for Engineering from 1941 until he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in 1942. He was trained at George Field in Illinois, commissioning as a 1st Lieutenant, and positioned as a pilot flying B-17Fs. 1st Lt. Cox was deployed to the European Theater with the 562nd Bomb Squadron of the 388th Bomber Group in the 8th Air Force stationed in England. He was killed in action on September 16, 1943. The 562nd was returning from a bombing mission targeting the major U-Boat and Luftwaffe installations at La Pallice, part of La Rochelle, France’s deep water port, when they encountered difficult weather over England. 1st Lt. Cox’s B-17F and two others overshot their field where they were expected to land and crashed in the Black Mountains of Wales outside of Rhayadar and Llanyre when they ran out of fuel. 1st Lt. Henry O. Cox Jr. is buried at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in Cambridgeshire, England. He is also memorialized on a plaque dedicated to him and his crew near the crash site at Llanyre, Wales, and a memorial marker at Crossville City Cemetery in Crossville, Tennessee.

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Cox photo with crew
Cox grave marker
Cox grave marker
Cox gravestone
Cox interment cox
Cox missing air crew report.
Cox news clippings
Cox memorial plaque
Cox memorial, Wales.

Tennesseans and War

College of Arts and Sciences

217 Hoskins Library
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville, TN 37996 – 4008

Email: cmagra@utk.edu

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Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
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