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Staff Sergeant Phillip Bruce Cook, a centenarian WWII veteran from Swansea, South Carolina, has been nominated by French President Emmanuel Macron as a Chevalier in the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur, France's highest national honor

Cook enlisted in the Army Air Force at age 17 in June 1943 and flew 35 combat missions as a ball turret gunner aboard B-17 "Flying Fortress" bombers with the 524th Bomber Squadron, 379th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

His missions included bombing German submarine pens, V1 rocket launching sites, rail yards, airfields, factories, and enemy positions during the Battle of France, Battle of the Bulge, and 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 received the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal, European African Middle East Campaign Medal with 4 Campaign Stars, and World War II Victory Medal before his honorable discharge on October 18, 1945