Hometown: Norfolk, AR
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Unit: 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Group
Military Honors: Distinguished Flyng Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: September 16, 1952 - KIA near Dandong, China
Age: 28
Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953

Troy “Gordy” Cope was a farm boy from the small town of Norfolk, Arkansas. He and three of his brothers all joined the Army Air Corps (precursor to the U.S. Air Force) during World War II (1939-1945).

Gordy served in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands during World War II, flying in some of the worst weather on the planet. He left the service after the war and attended the University of Arkansas at Conway. After graduating, he took a position as a P.E. teacher in Bradford, Arkansas.

Cope kept up his flying skills in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Cope was called up to train on the new F-86 Sabre fighter jet. In Korea, his F-86 had the name “Rosie” and a large red rose painted on the side as a tribute to his wife, Catherine Rose (Berry) Cope.

According to a United States Air Force account:

Captain Cope took off from Kimpo Air Base, South Korea, on Sept. 16, 1952, as part of a fighter sweep to protect other U.S. air missions across North Korea. The flight headed north toward “MiG Alley,” an area near the Yalu River that separates North Korea from China.

Captain Cope and his wingman, Capt. Karl Dittmer, encountered MiG-15 aircraft near Yalu and engaged in a ferocious aerial dogfight. Captain Dittmer was able to chase away several of the MiGs but lost radio and visual contact with Captain Cope in the dense clouds.

At 28 years old, Capt. Cope was declared Missing in Action in 1953, and months later listed as Killed in Action. He left behind his wife Catherine and their three young sons: Johhny, Danny, and Michael.

During the Cold War (1947-1991) the Russians placed a high priority on acquiring intelligence about American military aviation technology. American intelligence officials suspected the Soviets of capturing U.S. aircraft and pilots and smuggling them into Russia.

In the Korean War, North Korea had the backing of Communist China. The United States also had suspicions that the Russian MiG fighter jets near the China-North Korea border were not being flown by North Korean pilots—but by more experienced Soviet pilots.

In 1995, decades after the Korean War, American businessman Warren Sessler was visiting a military museum in the city of Dandong, on the Chinese side of the Yalu River. He noticed Capt. Cope’s metal dog tags as part of a display, asked the curator if he could copy the data, and reported his find to U.S. authorities.

Four years later—after the collapse of the Soviet Union—archival research by analysts of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) discovered documents in Russia’s Podolsk military archives that described Cope’s encounter with the MiG-15s. The documents detailed the shooting down of Cope, including drawings and statements from Soviet pilots who had flown for the North Koreans in combat against the United States.

The documents also included detailed reports of a crash site search conducted by Chinese and Soviet officials. In 2004, the Pentagon requested permission from the Chinese government for access to the site.

Negotiations were difficult but successful. With the permission of the Chinese government and assistance from the people of Dandong, a team from the DPMO excavated the crash site in May 2004 and recovered aircraft debris…and human remains. In October 2004, the pilot’s remains were positively identified as Capt. Cope.

Captain Troy Gordon Cope was finally brought home to be buried with full military honors on May 31, 2005, in the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, Texas—52 years after he was shot down.

In Honolulu, Hawaii, Capt. Cope’s name is engraved on the American Battle Monument Commission’s “Courts of the Missing,” along with others who are missing from the Korean War. As is the custom, a rosette has been placed next to his name to indicate that he has been found. For the pilot of the “Rosie,” the traditional marker is especially fitting.

Sources
Artist’s rendering by Craig Du Mez, from original photo.
U.S. Air Force: Family finally gets official word on Korean War vet’s fate
Los Angeles Times: Remains of U.S. Pilot Who Died in Korean War Are Identified
The Goldsboro News-Argus, Jun. 6, 2005: Base jets help bring flyers home
Deseret News, Jun. 1, 2005: Korean War pilot laid to rest at last
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency: Missing Korean War Serviceman Identified (Cope)
American Battle Monuments Commission: Troy Gordon Cope
CNN International: Long-lost Korean War pilot to get military burial
Korean War Project: Cope, Capt. Troy “Gordie”
Burial Site: Find a Grave