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Col. Philip Cochran, commander of the First Air Commando force, 1944.
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Black and white hotograph of Cochran in uniform, profile.

Credit: Image donated by Corbis-Bettmann

During World War II, Erie PA's Philip Cochran distinguished himself first as a daring pilot while commanding P-40 fighter planes in North Africa and then as the colorful leader of the 1st Air Commandos during the invasion of Burma. Cartoonist Milt Caniff used Cochran as his model for the swashbuckling Captain Flip Corkin in his "Terry and Pirates" comic strip.

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