Posted by
M*A on Wednesday, November 04, 2009 6:48:50 AM
This Week’s Post Was Written By Greta
Col. Henry J. Cook

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 was a career Special Forces (Green Beret) officer for
thirty-three of the total forty-two years that he was on combined
active and reserve duty. His combat tours began in 1967-68 when he
operated behind enemy lines in for extended periods of time conducting
operations with native guerrilla troops as the Executive Officer of the
4th Mobile Guerrilla. 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.

Later, he participated in Desert Shield (Saudi Arabia), Desert
Storm (Kuwait) and Iraq, and Operation Provide Comfort (Support to
Kurdish refugees in Northern Iraq.
For his valor and military skills, Colonel Cook was awarded the
Bronze Star Medal with “V” device for Valor and two Oak Leaf Clusters,
Army Commendation Medal with “V” Device and one Oak Leaf Cluster,
Purple Heart 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.
Henry Cook is now twice retired, as a soldier and as a lawyer
and resides in Diamondhead, Mississippi. He is a member of the Pro Bono
Consortium representing veterans who appeal denial of claims and is a
member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims. He’s been a
member of the Mississippi Bar Association since 1978 and also serves as
a Municipal Judge Pro Tem in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. 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 to MOPH, he also belongs to Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW),
Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Special Forces Association (SFA),
Special Operations Association (SOA), Military Order of the World Wars
(MOWW).
You can read more about Col. Henry in this PDF file on pages 31 & 32.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives
so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For
that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more
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your site, you can go here.
