[twocee]

I don't know about any of his claims---he may not have scored with VF17---but you should note that Cooke was transferred out of VF17 on 9 January 1944. He joined VF38, flying F6Fs, and became C.O. on 31 January, leading that squadron during the remainder of its SoPac combat tour. The squadron was based at Barakoma and Bougainville, finishing in March.