PFC Cooper’s DSC | a 7 Image Story  PFC Howard E. Cooper was an American hero.  Like so many millions of Americans, Howard Cooper joined the Army in WWII to do his duty for God and country.  He was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 136th Infantry Regiment, 33rd Infantry Division of the US Army.  The 136th was sent to the Pacific Theater and was instrumental in the liberation of the Philippine Islands, particularly Northern Luzon.

He entered the Army in December 1942.  After training stateside, he was sent to Hawaii for more training.  The 3rd Infantry Division, including the 136th Regiment, arrived in Hawaii on July 1943.  The division received training in jungle warfare and and amphibious landings.  The 136th Regiment, PFC Cooper’s unit, was stationed on the island of Maui.  The 136th alternated between island defense and training.  After Pearl Harbor, all Hawaiian Island’s were put under martial law as Hawaii became the central base of all Pacific operations.  Warlike conditions meant enforced blackouts and strict civilian supervision.  Each island had barbed wire as well as numerous other beach obstacles.  Naval vessels and aircraft patrolled a wide area around the entire island chain.  Still, even the war could not take away the beauty from Haleakala, the world’s largest extinct volcano.  The troops including PFC Cooper sometimes enjoyed their time on Maui.

Then, in April 1944, after a hot, humid, almost unbearable two week voyage across the equator from Hawaii, the 33rd Infantry Division arrived in New Guinea where it received additional training and participated in the New Guinea Campaign.   Living conditions were miserable; hot, humid, daily rain, mud, critters, and mosquitoes carrying malaria.  In December 1944, he went to Moratai Island with the 136th, where he participated in the Moratia Campaign mopping-up a few scattered Japanese forces.  Then, 136th began staging operations for the Philippines invasion and a major combat operation in Luzon.

Soundtrack from the movie Pacific; a musical score composed by Hans Zimmer.

Finally, in January 1945, he went to Luzon, Philippines where the 136th participated in the Luzon Campaign to liberate Northern Luzon.  He was awarded the Bronze Star on 20 Feb 1945 for meritorious achievement in ground combat in northern Luzon.  Then, on 12 May 1945, for extraordinary heroism in action, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the 2nd highest U.S. medal for heroism.  Please see his Medals and Presidential Citations.  He was badly wounded in that action and was also awarded the Purple Heart.  His wounds included machine gun wounds to the chest and lungs, shell fragments in the lung, and mortar shrapnel.  He also contracted malaria which came back to afflict him for many years.  After being helped from the battlefield by other soldiers, he was first taken to a hospitals in Leyte, Manila, Biak, and then, finally, stateside to Memphis, TN, where he was released in October 1945.

After he was released from the hospital and military service, he received the Purple Heart.  Through a some type of oversight, he was not presented with the Bronze Star or the Distinguished Service Cross.  They were sent posthumously in 2015 after research by his commanding officer’s son, uncovered the oversight.  He was a very modest American hero.

Each image will be posted individually this week under category PFC Cooper’s DSC.
Click any image below for a slide show!