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.”
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Hello from the Arizona Heroes Memorial! Tomorrow, May 16th, is Armed Forces Day, observed annually on the third Saturday in May. The first Armed Forces Day was held on 20 May 1950, after being created on 31 August 1949 by President Harry S. Truman. He led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank military members for their patriotic service in support of the republic and national interests and as an undeniable fact of American life. Please consider thanking any Veterans of military service in your lives for their contributions to national defense and our American way of life. Thank you and have a great day!
Hello from the Arizona Heroes Memorial! Today we are installing the latest order of "Forever Bricks" in the Paver Garden. This is a great way to honor a hero in your life, past or present. Your hero does not need to be an Arizona resident to have a brick at the Memorial. We want to honor all heroes! Today, Jesus and Rafa from KG Landscaping are installing bricks and also power washing all of the other 450 pavers already installed. Come by and have a look if you haven't already seen the Memorial! You can find the link to purchase your "Forever Brick" at www.AZHeroesMemorial.org.
Hello from the Arizona Heroes Memorial! We have two days of significance in the next week that we would like to acknowledge. Tomorrow, March 25th, is National Medal of Honor Day. During this day, celebrated since 1991, we remember and honor the heroism and sacrifice of the nation's Medal of Honor recipients. This highest of awards honors members of our armed forces who have distinguished themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their lives above and beyond the call of duty. There is no higher example of selfless service.
We also want to acknowledge and thank our Vietnam Veterans. On March 29th, designated as the National Vietnam War Veterans Day, we pay special tribute to the 9 million Americans who served during the Vietnam War era, to the 58,000 names memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and to those who never received the recognition they deserved when they returned to America from war.
Please take the time to reflect on the many sacrifices made by both Medal of Honor awardees, and by our Vietnam Veterans! Thank you.
