Un simple soldat Henri J Cook III

Page dédiée à Henri J Cook III

 

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Col. Henry J. Cook, III, Army Special Forces, Green Beret (Ret.), a resident of Diamondhead, MS., died peacefully March 16, 2015 after a long illness, in Meadville, MS, at the age of 78. He is survived by his wife, Nancy K., his sister Kaarin Brown (Smith J.), seven children, Henry J. Cook, IV (Allison), Leon M. Cook (Vivien), Brian P. Cook (Debbie), Gavin M. Cook (Kelli), Stephen J. Cook, Collette M. Bonvillain (Brian), and Nicole C. Cook; nine grandchildren and three great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father, Henry J. Cook, Jr. and his mother Helen F. Cook. He was born in New Orleans, LA and grew up in Harahan, LA. Henry first enlisted in the Army in 1953 at the age of 16. The Army sent him home, but he went back in 1955 and enlisted again. He was excited about the Special Forces and joined the elite unit in 1959. He completed airborne training and in 1964 graduated from Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a 2nd Lt., Infantry. His Army assignments included training in three Army branches; Infantry, Intelligence and Artillery. However, most of his time was spent in Special Forces. He was a career Special Forces (Green Beret) officer, having served 42 years of combined duty, active and reserve, and was a Green Beret for 33 of those years. He retired as a Colonel of Special Forces. His combat tours began in Vietnam, where in 1967-68, as a Lieutenant and Captain, he was a member of the then top-secret Mobile Guerilla Forces, which involved the leading of indigenous troops in operations behind enemy lines and in areas denied conventional military forces. He operated behind enemy lines for extended periods of time conducting guerrilla operations against North Vietnamese and Viet Cong targets, as the Executive Officer of the 4th Mobile Guerilla. He saw additional combat in 1969-70 when he led a U.S. Special Forces Mobile Strike Force Battalion (MIKE FORCE), consisting of Green Beret officers and sergeants leading Cambodian mercenaries, again working behind enemy lines as well as reacting to attacks on friendly bases, often requiring that his unit be parachuted into hostile drop zones. He was first wounded on February 3, 1968 (his birthday), and was wounded a second time while a patient in the Intensive Care Unit of the 3rd Surgical (MASH) Hospital at Dong Tam, Vietnam during the 1968 Tet Offensive. In 1990, Henry was called back to active duty to serve at the U.S. Special Operations Command, where he served as a Deputy Director of Special Operations. He served in support of Desert Shield (Saudi Arabia), Desert Storm (Kuwait) and Iraq and Operation Provide Comfort, which provided relief and protection to the Kurds in Northern Iraq. Henry, a Master Parachutist is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army Special Forces School. For his valor and military skills, Col. Cook was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for Valor and two Oak Leaf Clusters, two additional Bronze Star Medals, Army Commendation Medal with "V" for Valor, two Purple Hearts, with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold and Silver Stars, Joint Services Commendation Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Special Forces Combat Diver Badge, Special Forces Tab, and numerous other U.S. and foreign decorations. He was Past National Commander, Military Order of the Purple Heart, after serving over fifteen years with MOPH, gaining invaluable experience while in the positions of National Aide-de-Camp, Chapter Commander, Region Commander, National Junior Vice Commander and National Senior Vice Commander. He also played a major role in creating the MOPH Chapter in his home city of Diamondhead, MS Henry was a practicing attorney and a member of the Pro Bono Consortium representing veterans who appeal denial of claims and was a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims. He has been a member of the Mississippi Bar Association since 1978 and also served as a Municipal Judge Pro Tem in Bay St .Louis, MS. Other significant contributions to veterans by Henry Cook include; a major role in the creation of the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Ocean Springs and helping raise over $500,000 to help MOPH members in Louisiana and Mississippi who lost everything during Hurricane Katrina. In addition, he also belonged to VFW, DAV, Special Forces Assn (SFA), Special

 

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            One of last photo, he said good bye

 

Si le film les bérets verts de John WAYNE, ou bien Apocalyspe Now représentent pour beaucoup l'image de la guerre du Vietnam.

Henri J Cook à lui seul pourrait bien représenter les Bérets Verts , il a fait toute sa carrière dans les Spéciales Forces, du Vietnam à la Guerre du Golf en 1991.

Un héro américain ? Non un simple soldats comme tant d'autres qui ont fait leurs devoir pour l'Amérique au 4 coins du monde.  Je suis loin de faire une quelconque apologie de la politique américaine extérieure, et ne partage pas toujours le sens de leur signification du mot liberté

Mais j'ai un respect immense envers le soldat amércain, jamais je ne pourrai oublier que c'est grâce à eux que nous devons une grande partie de notre liberté, ils nous libérés des Nazis avec les Anglais, Canadiens , Russes et autres nations s'étant levée contre le Nazisme

Nous devons honorer toujours la mémoire de ces soldats, qu'ils se soient battus en Argonne en 1917, en Normandie en 1944, en Corée en 1950, au Vietnam pendant plus de 15 ans

Si les soldats américains sont rentrés chez eux en 1919 et en 1945 en héros, qu'ils ont été acceuillis en triomphe par la population américaines

Il en a été tous autres de ceux qui ont servis au Vietnam; souvent ils ont été reçu à coup de tomates ou oeufs pourri, on les a traité d'assassins, partout en europe et dans le monde des manifestations de jeunes ont défilés avec des banderolles  US GO HOME

Pourtant ils avaient  fait leurs devoirs comme leur père et comme leur grand père.

Plus de 50 ans sont passés depuis cette guerre du Vietnam; il est plus que temps de les considérer comme des vrais Hommes sont ont simplement fait leur devoir pour leur pays

 

A savoir si l'Amérique a toujours le droit d'ingérance partout dans le monde, cela est une toute autre histoire

Mais il y a une chose que je suis sûr, si un jour , ici en Europe, notre démocratie est anéantie, que nous vivons de nouveau au son des bottes martellant les pavés, que les minorités et autres sont devenus les boucs émissaires et sont massacrées.

L'armée américaine sera toujous là pour nous rendre notre liberté

 

Cook

 

 

 

Date de dernière mise à jour : 02/07/2021

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