Fatal Error: The Final Flight of a Navy WWII Patrol Bomber

In a PBM-5 seaplane bomber riddled by Japanese shells, Del Croze and his U.S. Navy air crew of thirteen men limp into a sparsely-occupied Pacific Island. Struggling with exhaustion and injuries, they await a rescue plane with fading hope. Will it arrive before the Japanese find them? In Fatal Error, author Gary Cooper tells the nearly forgotten story of their valor in the face of overwhelming odds. Inspired by letters and newspaper clippings found in a discarded suitcase, Cooper spent years researching navy archives, Japanese war crime records, and the recollections of family members to discover who the crewmen were and what they endured. Their story begins with months of routine training and culminates in the horrors of imprisonment by the dreaded Japanese Kempei Tai. It is a story of ordinary young Americans who fight with courage and endurance against unbeatable odds.

Commander Gary Cooper had a distinguished and varied naval career that encompassed 35 years of active duty, serving as both an enlisted man and a commissioned officer. While a large part of his career was with the submarine force, he also served with the naval air forces on the staff of Commander, Reconnaissance Attack Wing One. He embarked in aircraft carriers as a submarine communication liaison officer during direct support operations with a carrier task force. He retired from the military in 1991.