Already famous as a child star in the 1920s, Jackie Coogan enlisted in the US Army in March 1941. After Pearl Harbour, he requested a transfer to the US Army Air Forces as a glider pilot because he had civilian flying experience. After graduating from glider school, he volunteered for hazardous duty with the 1st Air Commando Group, and was sent to India in December 1943 to support the Burma campaign. In March 1944 Coogan flew British troops, the Chindits, at night into a small jungle clearing 100 miles behind Japanese lines
