World War II Henry David Cooke Jr. (September 21, 1879 – July 7, 1958) was a highly decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of Rear admiral.

Cooke attended the public schools in Washington, D.C. and New York City and received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, in September 1899.

[3][2] Cooke graduated as Passed midshipman with Bachelor of Science degree in June 1903 and was assigned to the battleship Wisconsin operating with the Asiatic Fleet mostly in South China Sea during the ongoing Philippine–American War.

[4] Following his recovery, he was transferred to the staff of Army Major general Leonard Wood, governor of Moro Province and also recommended for advancement of ten numbers in grade by the Commander-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet, Rear admiral Yates Stirling.

In October 1909, Cooke was ordered back to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and assumed duty as an instructor in the Department of Physics and Chemistry and Electrical Engineering.

Cooke took his ship to Brest, France in mid-June and conducted patrols until August that year, when assumed command of destroyer Jenkins based at Queenstown, Ireland.

[14][15] Cooke was ordered to New York City in October 1920 for duty as Officer-in-Charge of Navy Recruiting Officer, an assignment he held until September 1921, when he began his second tour at the United States Naval Academy.

[22][23][24][25][26] Cooke began his third tour at the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in January 1930 and assumed duty as Commandant of midshipmen and director of athletics.

[27][28] By the end of June 1932, Cooke assumed command of the battleship Oklahoma, which operated along the West Coast of the United States and Hawaii as the part of the Pacific Fleet.

[2] He commanded transports which carried several hundred Sherman tanks, which were delivered to Alexandria, Egypt to reinforce Field Marshall Bernard L. Montgomery's Eighth Army.

His ships also transported supplies and personnel to Cape Town, South Africa, and was also in the close contact with the merchant service and other Allied naval units and participated in the improvement of the convoy system.