Nathan Cook, Oldest Veteran Of Spanish-American War Era

PHOENIX - Nathan E. Cook, the oldest known American war veteran and last surviving veteran of the Spanish-American War era, died yesterday. He was 106.

Cook joined the Navy in 1901 as a cabin boy. He was 15 but lied about his age to be able to join after spotting a recruiting poster promising an opportunity to "see the world."

During his 44-year career, Cook saw action in the Boxer Rebellion in China, the Philippine Insurrection and clashes on the U.S.-Mexican border.

Cook also participated in World War I, commanding a sub chaser that sank two German U-boats. And he decided to forgo retirement to fight in World War II, commanding a sea-going tug stationed at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and a submarine tender at Panama.

According to a Veterans Administration news release, he was the oldest living veteran of the Spanish-American War era.

"The passing of our nation's oldest war veteran is more than just an historical footnote," Veterans Affairs Secretary Edward Derwinski said in Washington. "Nathan Cook's life spanned a period in which America grew from a nation just emerging on the world scene, to become the greatest power on Earth."

The Veterans Affairs Department said 392,000 men and women served during the 1898-1902 period that included the United States' war with Spain.

Cook had said Navy life was tough but that it beat living on a farm in his native Missouri.

When Cook turned 104, President Bush sent him a congratulatory letter and guests watched a video presentation of his life.

Cook's younger daughter, Eleanor Kay of Tempe, Ariz., said on his 104th birthday: "He was a Navy man throughout. Navy. Navy. Navy. He lived for the Navy. Yes, he had a wife and family, and he enjoyed coming home to see them. But he also enjoyed getting back to his ship."

He entered the VA home in 1982 after his wife of 76 years, Elizabeth, died. They met in New York in 1901 and married in 1905.