Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1957 Lucky Bag:

WILSON CRAWFORD ROOK

Willy was most noted for his four point landings in the mud puddles or splitting his trousers while leading cheers at Navy’s football games. When not firing a pistol on the Varsity range, BAC’ing or sailing on the “Freedom,” Willy could be spotted dragging some young lovely around the Yard. Although Rio was his favorite port, Willy had fond memories of Vigo, Paris and Halifax. Academics were not new to Willy; before he came to the Academy, he spent time at Kilgore Junior College in Texas and George Washington University in D.C. However, Willy found that it took two years to finish youngster French.

Loss

Wilson was lost on January 25, 1968 when the A-4 he was piloting crashed aboard USS Bennington (CVS 20).

From A-4 Skyhawk¹:

January 25, 1968: USS Bennington’s 104,000th landing was made by LCDR Wilson C. Rook of VA-125. On Rook’s next attempt that evening, his A-4C BuNo. 147810 struck the round down, exploded and skidded off the port side of the flight deck. His body was not recovered. Jim Winchester

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Wilson entered Boy Scout Troop 201 and attained the rank of Eagle Scout, patrol leader and junior assistant scoutmaster of the troop. He attained the Order of the Arrow, Brotherhood of the Arrow and the Gold and Country Award. He was the youngest Boy Scout from the East Texas Council ever to serve on the staff at the National Boy Scout Camp Philmont in New Mexico.

He graduated in 1950 from Longview High School. Activities: Pam Am., ’48-’49; Treas. Speech Club ’48; Pres. Photo Club ’48; English Club ’49; Student Council ’49; Track ’50; Boxing ’48-’50; Football ’48; Queen’s Court ’49-’50.

Wilson went to Kilgore College for one year and George Washington University in Washington, D. C., for another year. In 1951 he was named president of Delta Tau Delta pledge class at GWU.

In August 1961, he arrived at Hensley Field, NAS, Dallas, Texas, in a P2V patrol bomber on a cross-country training mission. The plane had a crew of 11 for submarine patrol duty on the West Coast. His parents and brother Heasley came to see him. His brother Benson missed seeing Wilson as he had enlisted in the Air Force one week earlier and was stationed at Lackland AFB as A-3c. Heasley was a Pfc in the National guard, which caused Moreland, No. 4 Rook son, to comment, “I’m going Marine.” Wilson next flew the plane on to North Island, Coronado.

Wilson was stationed at Corpus Christi between 1963 and 1965 where he received his Navy flying wings. He completed one tour of duty in Vietnam as navigations officer aboard the USS Pine Island. He graduated from Navy jet flying school at Fallon, Nevada, just a week prior to his death. A member of Attack Squadron 125 at NAS Le Moore, California, he was completing his qualifications tests for night landing on the decks of a flat top when he was killed.

Survivors were his wife Carol and children Elizabeth “Betsy” 8, Virginia “Ginia” 7, Wilson Jr. “Bill” 6, Mary Katherine and Karen Ann. His father Ben was an electrical engineer, and mother Dorothy worked for the Longview News and Journal.

Photographs

From Longview News Journal on January 26, 1968

From his 1950 high school yearbook

From his 1950 high school yearbook

From the George Washington University 1952 yearbook

References