Leon Cooper

90 Day Wonder - Darkness Remembered Leon Cooper

Leon Cooper was a young US Navyofficer who spent three years in the Pacific during WWII. Like others in the ?GreatestGeneration,? he was prepared to do his duty in the defense of his country, buthis stand-up nature brought him into conflict with Captain Boda, the commandingofficer of the ship on which he served. Captain Boda was a ?Mustang,? anenlisted man of many years of service who received a ?Battlefield? commission. Boda bore a deep resentment toward ?gentlemen? officers like Cooper who werecommissioned after only 90 days? training. Boda?s sociopathic behavior,including his reckless commands resulted in the deaths of a number of Cooper?sshipmates. This ?heightened the conflict between thetwo men. Cooper?s penchant to stand firm angered the Captain to the extent thathe plotted to have Cooper killed during the course of the six invasions ofJapanese-held islands inwhich Cooper was a major participant. Cooper tried unsuccessfully topersuade the Navy High Command to take action against Boda, but wound upgetting himself in a worse position with the Captain. After his discharge from theservice Cooper was still beset with a burning need to wreak vengeance upon themurderous Boda, even resorting to an abortive attempt to kill Boda - now an Admiralaboard the Presidential yacht, the Potomac. When Cooper finally stumbled uponthe means to give Boda his just deserts, he was thwarted by a death-bed promiseto his wife to leave vengeance to the Lord. But Cooper found peace with himselfafter he found a way to keep his promise and even the score with Boda.