Weir Cook and Paul Baer, WWI aviators and former airport namesakes: encore

<p dir="ltr">Both were pioneer aviators and heroic <strong>World War I</strong> fighter pilots from Indiana, and both were killed while flying aircraft overseas.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src= "http://hoosierhistorylive.org/images/Weir-Cook.PNG" alt= "Weir Cook." width="337" height="441" align= "right" />And <strong><a href= "https://www.in.gov/governorhistory/mitchdaniels/2570.htm">Weir Cook</a></strong> and <strong><a href= "https://fwairport.com/airport-authority/airport-history/indiana-aviation-pioneers/">Paul Baer</a></strong> once were the namesakes of the airports in the two largest cities in their home state. Today, although those airports are officially called <strong><a href= "https://www.indianapolisairport.com/">Indianapolis International Airport</a></strong> and <strong><a href= "https://fwairport.com/">Fort Wayne International Airport</a></strong>, the terminal buildings at each still carry the name of these two great airmen.</p> <p dir="ltr">To explore the lives of the aviators who earned national acclaim for their valor during what once was known as the Great War, Nelson is joined by two guests in this encore of a show originally broadcast in 2018. The guests are:</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><strong>William Bell</strong>, an Indianapolis-based writer and retired law enforcement officer who has researched <strong>Hancock County</strong> native Weir Cook (1892-1943), recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross in World War I. Cook also was hailed as a hero during <strong>World War II</strong> even though he was well into his 40s when he returned to the <strong>Army Air Corp </strong>and flew combat missions over the Pacific. <p> </p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1">And <strong>Tony Garel-Frantzen</strong> of Fort Myers, Fla., the author of <em><strong><a href= "https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467138499">Hoosier Aviator Paul Baer: America's First Combat Ace</a></strong></em> (The History Press, 2017). In his biography of Baer (1894-1930), Tony contends the Fort Wayne native b