Portrait of a Hero – John Cook

John Cook was born in 1928 in Ohio, celebrating his 95th birthday in June. He attended Culver Military Academy for high school and went on to Stanford University earning his degree in Economics. He met his wife there; they were married for 68 years before her passing.

He was called to active duty in 1951 as a 2nd Lieutenant after being in the ROTC at Stanford. He was a forward observer in the field artillery in support of a company of several hundred men. He lived with the infantry on the front lines of the conflict. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant as Assistant Operations Officer. During his time in Korea, there was mostly severe artillery fire with battles for high ground. Following Korea, he was sent to Washington DC for the Civil Affairs/ Military Government and trained at Georgetown University for Middle East affairs. He served as Arts, Monuments and Archives Officer. His career in the military was motivated by “the structure and discipline of the military, always underlying the patriotism that most understood.” 

Following the military, he returned to Ohio and his wife and son who he saw for the first time when the baby was 9 months old.  He helped manage his family’s department store that was founded in the Civil War. He retired in 1984 to Tucson on his doctor’s orders to move to the desert for his lungs. After he retired, he corresponded with Wang Fu Chai who was in the Chinese Army assigned to Korea, the grandfather of John’s grand daughter-in-law. John closed his letter “from one old soldier to another – now your friend.”  Wang Fu Cai closed his letter “Your never met friend.”  

Since 2008 he has been active in the Splendido Academic Program. He has also been active in the Splendido Scholarship program providing scholarships to employees and their families.

When asked what he sees as necessary for the future, he responded “We need to come to some agreement with China and learn to work together.” John closed our time together saying, “The emerging generation may not be as prepared as we were. Things are changing so rapidly. Change is something we can all look forward to and I’m cautiously optimistic about the future.”


Recent Posts

They Also Serve

Read More

Portrait of a Hero – John Cook

Read More

Portrait of a Hero – Richard Brinkley

Read More

On the Front Lines This 4th of July

Read More
Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

Good morning from the Arizona Heroes Memorial! We are continuing to work very hard on the project and are progressing well toward our Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting ceremony scheduled for Saturday, November 16, 2024, at 11 am. Hope you can join us that day to celebrate the opening of this amazing Memorial in Oro Valley's Naranja Park! Check out this great drone video provided by Scott Spicer of Spencer Construction! ... See MoreSee Less

Hello again from the Arizona Heroes Memorial in Oro Valley! A lot of progress to report today. Parsons Steel Builders was onsite today installing the frame of the Amphitheater roof and will be completing their work in the next several days. The Spencer Construction crew formed and poured curbing for the parking lot area, and it looks great! Stop or drive by for a look, and if you get the chance, thank the workers onsite for their dedicated efforts. They have been braving the heat for months to make our Memorial a reality. Could not have done this without them! ... See MoreSee Less

Hello again from the Arizona Heroes Memorial in Oro Valley! A lot of progress to report today. Parsons Steel Builders was onsite today installing the frame of the Amphitheater roof and will be completing their work in the next several days. The Spencer Construction crew formed and poured curbing for the parking lot area, and it looks great! Stop or drive by for a look, and if you get the chance, thank the workers onsite for their dedicated efforts. They have been braving the heat for months to make our Memorial a reality. Could not have done this without them!Image attachmentImage attachment+1Image attachment

Hello from the Arizona Heroes Memorial in Oro Valley, AZ! Today we had the installation of the first of a number of items manufactured for us by Addisigns of Tucson (big thanks to Micki and the team). Take a look at the beautiful work installed on the back side of the Memorial monument. We have more installations to come this week. We are all very excited about the progress at the site! Drive by to check it out the next time you're in Naranja Park! ... See MoreSee Less

Hello from the Arizona Heroes Memorial in Oro Valley, AZ! Today we had the installation of the first of a number of items manufactured for us by Addisigns of Tucson (big thanks to Micki and the team). Take a look at the beautiful work installed on the back side of the Memorial monument. We have more installations to come this week. We are all very excited about the progress at the site! Drive by to check it out the next time youre in Naranja Park!
Load more