Howard Harrison Cooksey Lieutenant General, United States Army |
 |
| From
a contemporary press reports:
We are saddened to announce that Howard Harrison Cooksey, 78, retired Army Lieutenant General and decorated combat veteran in three wars, died December 22, 2002, of a vascular disease at the Fairfax retirement community in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. General Cooksey was born in Brentsville, Virginia, and raised in Manassas. He was deputy chief of staff for research, development and acquisition when he retired in 1978. His combat duties as an infantry officer were with the 158th Regimental Combat Team in the Philippines in World War II, the 7th Infantry Division in the Korean War, and as a General officer, with the American Division and the 1st Regional Assistance Command in Vietnam. He qualified as a paratrooper in 1958. Other military assignments were with General Douglas MacArthur's honor guard during the occupation of Japan and with the 2nd Battle Group, 6th Infantry Division, in Berlin. He was also assistant professor of military science at Drexel Institute in Philadelphia and commanding officer at Fort Dix, New Jersey. For ten years after his retirement, General Cooksey was president of the Cooksey Corporation, a military consulting firm based in Alexandria, Virginia. He owned and operated two farms near Independence, Virginia, for 12 years. In 1986, he moved to Berryville, Virginia, where he served on the Clarke County Planning Commission for four years. He was also president of the Lions Club, chairman of the board of Grafton School for autistic children, , and a member of the Shenandoah Valley Chapter of Retired Officers Association. A 1943 graduate of Virginia Tech, he earned a master's degree in foreign affairs from George Washington University in 1964. He served on the board of directors of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association for ten years. An active Episcopalian, he served as treasurer of the Church of the Epiphany in the District and on the vestries of Immanuel Church-on the- Hill in Alexandria, Grace Church in Berryville and St. John's in Arlington. General Cooksey's military decorations include the Distinguished Services Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with an oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with V and an oak leaf cluster, the Air Medal with 28 oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the Purple Heart. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Althea Hooff Cooksey of Fort Belvoir, a son, Paul Hoof Cooksey of Alexandria, a daughter, Allison Cooksey Hyland of Annapolis, a sister, Carolyn Cooksey Baker of Falls Church and six grandchildren. Funeral services with full military honors
were held at the Old Chapel, Fort Meyer, followed by burial at Arlington
National Cemetery.
General Cooksey served in the Army for 35 years before retiring in 1978 as deputy chief of staff for research, development and acquisition at the Pentagon. After graduating from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1943, he entered the Army and became an infantry officer with the 158th Regimental Combat Team in the Philippines during World War II. In the Korean War, he was an infantry officer with the 7th Infantry Division. He had been a commanding officer at Fort Dix, New Jersey, when in June 1968 he was assigned to the 23rd Infantry (Americal) Division, which months earlier was responsible for the Vietnam War's most infamous massacre of Vietnamese women and children. Between combat assignments, he held a number of overseas posts. He was a member of General Douglas MacArthur's honor guard in the Japanese occupation and a member of the Second Battalion Group, 6th Infantry Division, in Berlin in 1961. Over the years, his decorations included the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit and Purple Heart. General Cooksey was born in Brentsville, Virginia, and raised in Manassas, where he graduated from Osbourn High School. He received a master's degree in foreign affairs from George Washington University in 1964. After his military retirement in 1978, he headed his own military consulting firm in Alexandria and served as a senior associate with the Association of the U.S. Army. He also operated two farms near Independence, Virginia, and served on the Clarke County Planning Commission for four years. Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Althea
Hoof of Fort Belvoir; two children, Paul Hooff Cooksey of Alexandria and
Allison Cooksey Hyland of Annapolis; a sister, Carolyn Cooksey Baker of
Falls Church; and six grandchildren.
On Wednesday, December 22, 1999, at Belvoir Woods Health Care Center, beloved husband of Althea Cooksey; loving father of Paul Hooff Cooksey of Alexandria, VA and Allison Cooksey Hyland of Annapolis, Maryland. He is also survived by a sister, Carolyn Cooksey Baker of Falls Church, Virginia, and six grandchildren. A funeral service, with full military honors, will be held on Monday, January 3, at 11 a.m. at Fort Myer (Old Post) Chapel, followed by burial in Arlington National Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Grafton
School, P.O. Box 1300, Stephens City, Virginia 22655.
|
Silver Star Medal
|
