lest we forget

COBB, HUBBARD DON

Rank / Branch:

PLATOON SERGEANT, U.S. ARMY

Date Of Birth:

1940-10-21

Country Of Loss:

SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

HOSTILE-EXPLOSIVE DEVICE

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:

GROUND

Other:

DIVORCED

Unit:

FIRST CAVALRY DIVISION

Date Of Loss:

1968-1-14

Loss Coordinates:

BINH DINH

Catagory:

BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

HUBBARD DON COBB, PLATOON SERGEANT, ODESSA, ECTOR, TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

COMBAT INFANTRYMAN'S BADGE, DISTINGUSHED SERVICE CROSS, BRONZE STAR WITH V DEVICE AND MERITORIOUS WITH OAK LEAVE CLUSTER, PURPLE HEART, AIR MEDAL, ARMY COMMENDATIONS MEDAL, GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL WITH 3 LOOPS (3 AWARDS), NATIONAL DEFENSE. VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL, KOREA SERVICE MEDAL VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM AND OAK LEAF CLUSTER VIETMAN MERIT MEDAL

BIOGRAPHY

Hubbard Don Cobb was born in Eustace, near Athens, Texas. He was the only child born to Leona Brunson and Fred Edward Cobb. Don's father worked as a driller in the oilfield and the family moved frequently with the oilfield. They lived in Athens, Sterling City, Ballinger, Odessa, Midland and Hobbs, New Mexico. He attended grade school in Athens, Sterling City and Ballinger. He attended junior high school in Midland and high school in Hobbs, New Mexico and then attended Odessa High School. His parents lived in Odessa from 1956 to 1967.
He dropped out of high school after his junior year from Odessa High School and joined the Army on December 30, 1957 when he was 17 years old. He did his basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas and infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He earned his GED from the United States Armed Forces Institute. He did a tour in Korea for 18 months with the 7th Infantry Division. He returned to Fort Sill, Oklahoma where served with the 30th Infantry Regiment.
He married Judy Verlyne Whorton in November 1960 prior to his release from the active Army December 3, 1960. Don re-enlisted after a short break in service in March 1961 and was sent to Fort Hood, Texas where his son, Gary Don, was born on September 26, 1961. Judy and Don divorced in 1963 while Don was in Germany. Don served 41 months in Germany prior to going to Vietnam.
Don was assigned as a Platoon Sergeant (Sergeant First Class E-7) with the 5th Cavalry Regiment during his first tour. He had completed that tour in May 1967. He took a 30 day leave home to visit his parents in Hobbs, New Mexico and his cousins in Dallas. He returned to Vietnam June 12, 1967, and was assigned as a platoon sergeant to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, First Cavalry Division. He received a Bronze Star for Valor for an action in ceremonies at An Khe Vietnam in November 1967.
Don was assigned as a Platoon Sergeant (Sergeant First Class E-7) with the 5th Cavalry Regiment during his first tour. He had completed that tour in May 1967. He took a 30 day leave home to visit his parents in Hobbs, New Mexico and his cousins in Dallas. He returned to Vietnam June 12, 1967, and was assigned as a platoon sergeant to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, First Cavalry Division. He received a Bronze Star for Valor for an action in ceremonies at An Khe Vietnam in November 1967.
PSGT Cobb was buried with full military honors in the Athens City Cemetery in Athens, Texas. His parents had moved back to Hobbs, New Mexico in 1967 when PSGT Cobb was returning stateside from his first tour in Vietnam.
He was survived by his parents and his son, Gary Don Cobb. In a ceremony held in Hobbs, New Mexico at the American Legion on September 6, 1968, Don's parents were presented the Distinguished Service Cross, the Purple Heart and his second Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service, the Air Medal and the Army Commendation's Medal for meritorious service. The Vietnamese government awarded Don the Vietnam Military Merit Medal, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm.
His parents are deceased and rest next to him. His mother died May 27, 1979, at the age of 55. His father, Fred remarried after the death of his wife. He was killed in a farm tractor accident in Quitman, Texas on September 15, 1984. He was 69 years old.
*COBB, HUBBARD DON Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army Company A, 2d Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division Date of Action: January 14, 1968 CITATION: The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Hubbard Don Cobb, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Company A, 2d Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. Platoon Sergeant Cobb distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 14 January 1968 while leading his platoon in an attack near Dai Luong. A scout helicopter, performing a reconnaissance at Sergeant Cobb's request, made contact with elements of a Viet Cong regiment in a rock and cave complex in which the platoon was operating. Sergeant Cobb deployed his troops for an assault and immediately received sporadic but deadly rifle and grenade fire. The initial burst wounded the two point men. Sergeant Cobb quickly directed counter fire which accounted for two enemy dead. He then placed himself on the point as the platoon maneuvered around a series of openings in the rocks. Sergeant Cobb spent the next hour creeping forward to hurl explosive charges into the caves. Disregarding his safety, he repeatedly engaged the enemy, personally killing three Viet Cong. At dusk, as he was approaching a cave, an enemy soldier suddenly appeared and, with a burst of automatic rifle fire, mortally wounded Sergeant Cobb. Although he was dying, Sergeant Cobb assaulted the position carrying an explosive charge and plunged headfirst into the hole, killing his foe in the resulting blast. Platoon Sergeant Cobb's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army. HQ US Army, Vietnam, General Orders No. 3264 (July 10, 1968) Home Town: Odessa, Texas