Jack Cohen was born in Leslie, South Africa, to a family of Lithuanian emigrants. In 1936, at the age of 17, he began taking flying lessons. In 1938, he attempted to join the South African Air Force (SAAF) but was rejected.
He was mobilized into the infantry, serving with the Rand Light Infantry (RLI, 2nd SA Infantry Division). It was there that he managed to secure one of the most dangerous jobs: driving a three-ton truck on the Pretoria-Cairo route, a journey that took 90 days one way.
World War II Service
After October 1942, he finally succeeded in transferring to aviation. Following his initial course, he chose fighter aircraft, while his best friend opted for bombers, tragically dying while flying a B-26.
After completing the necessary courses, Cohen was assigned to the 4th Air Squadron, which was equipped with P-40 fighters and stationed in Egypt. With this unit, he served across North Africa and Italy. Notably, Lionel Bloch and Sid Cohen were also with him during this period.
As it became clear that the war in Europe was ending, the squadron was re-equipped with “Mustangs” and directed towards the Pacific. However, it did not reach its destination, and Cohen experienced the end of the war in Colombo (Ceylon).
Volunteering for Israel
Cohen was discharged from the Air Force at the end of 1946. He worked as a sales agent and hotel manager until the hotel burned down in the summer of 1948. It was then that he decided to go and defend what he considered his new homeland for the Jewish people.
In August of that same year, Cohen, along with other volunteers, reached Rome aboard a Dakota aircraft. From there, they planned to fly to Haifa, but an armistice had been declared, and UN representatives strictly monitored the area to prevent new combatants from entering the conflict zone. Consequently, the transport plane was rerouted to Herzliya, the base of the 101st Air Squadron. There, he participated in ferrying “Spitfires” from Czechoslovakia, via Yugoslavia.
Later Life and Emigration
After the war, Cohen remained with the 101st Air Squadron. In 1951, he returned to South Africa due to his father’s severe illness. Cohen planned to quickly settle all affairs, sort out the formalities (doctors predicted his father’s imminent death), and return to Israel.
However, contrary to all medical predictions, his father passed away only in… 1973! Cohen remained in South Africa throughout this period. In 1987, he emigrated to Australia with his daughter’s family, where he lived at least until the year 2000.