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Staff Sergeant Phillip Bruce Cook, a World War II veteran from Swansea, South Carolina, has been awarded the French Legion of Honor (Chevalier rank) by French President Emmanuel Macron for his service during WWII

Cook enlisted in the Army Air Force on June 28, 1943, at age 17 and flew 35 combat missions as a ball turret gunner aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress with the 379th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

His missions included bombing German submarine pens, V1 rocket launch sites, rail yards, airfields, and enemy positions during the Battle of France, Battle of the Bulge, and the Allied assault across the Rhine River

The 379th Bomb Group held the most successful combat record of all 8th Air Force heavy bomber groups, dropping 26,459 tons of bombs across 330 missions between May 1943 and May 1945

Cook, now a centenarian, received multiple military decorations including the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters and the European African Middle East Campaign Medal with 4 Campaign Stars before his honorable discharge on October 18, 1945