Wesley G Coss
Born: May 1, 1923 in Paw Paw, Illinois
Died: August 11, 2020 in Redondo Beach, California Pen Name: Wes Coss Connection to Illinois: Coss was born and raised in Paw Paw. He learned to fly airplanes in the town a mile east of his home in Waterman. Biography: A decorated WWII B-17 captain, on his 21st mission in 1944, Wesley Coss's plane was shot-down over Lançon-Provence, France. He narrowly escaped Nazi-occupied territory via the French Resistance and was home for his 21st birthday. He went on to fly covert surveillance missions over the Soviet Union during the Korean Conflict (1950s), and transport injured and deceased U.S. troops back home from Vietnam (1960s). After 38 years of piloting for Continental Airlines, Coss retired as #1 Captain and authored STARDUST FALLING, recounting his WWII exploits. A commercial fisherman and avid sailor, this true patriot and humanitarian was an active parishioner at St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic Church, and a volunteer cook for the Union Rescue Mission.
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Stardust Falling ISBN: 0977924300 OCLC: 191548554 Wesley G. Coss Torrance, CA : 2012 "Stardust Falling" chronicles the thrilling, true tale of 20-year-old Wes Coss, a US Army Air Corps pilot 1st Lt., whose powerful desire to fly set him on a collision course with history. In 1944, while piloting his B-17 "Stardust", Wes and his ten-man crew were shot down by German fighters over Southern France. Follow the spine-tingling twists and turns, aided by the French Resistance, young Coss evades capture only to tackle a harrowing winter crossing of the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain. |