On 2 September 1944, the first soldiers of the U.S. 9th Infantry Division reached the Momignies area. It was here, in the stable that now houses the museum, that Lieutenant Cook fell — the first American officer killed during the Liberation of Belgium.
Using period photographs and maps, the museum retraces the first miles of the liberating advance: the first liberator seen, the first prisoners released, the first tanks, the first flags brought back out. For the residents who watched them arrive, these images marked the abrupt end of four years of Occupation — and the beginning of another story, just as difficult to tell simply.
In this very stable, Lieutenant Cook died during the very first fighting of the Liberation — the first American officer to fall on Belgian soil. His personal effects are now displayed just a few metres from where he died. Around him, dozens of other soldiers of the 9th Division continued their advance eastward. The museum bears his name so that none of them will be forgotten.