LEST WE FORGET
Leading Aircraftman James William COOPER
Service No: 117056
Born: Carlton VIC, 11 February 1909
Enlisted in the RAAF: 10 August 1942
Unit: No. 3 Airfield Construction Squadron, Darwin NT
Died: Ground Accident, Darwin, 11 June 1943, Aged 35 Years
Buried: Adelaide River War Cemetery NT
CWGC Additional Information: Son of James William and Florence Cooper; husband of Evelyn Cooper, of Port Melbourne, Victoria
Roll of Honour: Port Melbourne VIC
Remembered: Panel 114, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
On 11 June 1943, Leading Aircraftman Cooper, a General Hand, was receiving instruction on the Thompson machine gun. The instructor with the gun under his arm, inserted a magazine (believed by him to be empty), and immediately the gun started firing. Three shots were fired, and one of the bullets ricocheted off a table and struck Leading Aircraftman Cooper and he was killed.
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/8/131