lest we forget

COOPER, ROBERT WESLEY

Rank / Branch:

  • SPECIALIST FOUTH CLASS, U.S. ARMY

Date Of Birth:

  • 1948-05-05

Country Of Loss:

  • SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

  • HOSTILE-EXPLOSIVE DEVICE

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:​

  • GROUND

Other:

  • NOT MARRIED

Unit:

  • 25TH INFANTRY

Date Of Loss:

  • 1967-12-22

Loss Coordinates:

  • BINH DUONG

Catagory:

  • BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

  • SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

  • COOPER, ROBERT WELSEY, SPECIALIST FOURTH CLASS, COLORADO CITY, MITCHELL COUNTY, TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

  • BRONZE STAR WITH V DEVICE, PURPLE HEART, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL

BIOGRAPHY

  • Robert W. Cooper was the youngest son of Bessie Evelyn Jones and Woodrow Wilson Cooper. He was a native of Colorado City, Texas. He attended schools in Colorado City and last attended Colorado City High School in 1966. While in high school, he was very active in the Mitchell County 4H and exhibited grand champion steers at the State Fair of Texas and the Southwest Livestock Show in El Paso, as well as many local livestock shows.
  • He dropped out of school before he graduated and enlisted in the U.S. Army his senior year. He completed basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas and Armored Crewman training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
  • He began his tour in Vietnam and was assigned to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 34th Armored Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. His company was operating with 2/27th Infantry during Operation Saratoga in the Hobo and Boi Loi Woods during the month of December 1967. On December 22, 1967, Specialist Cooper was killed when his tank hit a booby trapped V.C. mine. He sustained a severe head injury.
  • He was buried with full military honors in the Colorado City Cemetery. He was survived by his parents and his older brother, Mickey of Lubbock who had Vietnam Service in 1963-64 and had discharged from the Army in 1964. He was also survived by his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. M.L. Jones of Trent and his paternal grandmother, Mrs. W.M. Cooper also of Trent.
  • He was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star with V Device which was presented to his parents in a ceremony in Colorado City in May 1968. Robert's father, Woodrow Wilson Cooper passed away in 1990 and his mother Bessie in 2005. Both are buried in the same plot as Robert.
  • COLORADO CITY HIGH SCHOOL, CLASS OF 1966
  • COLORADO CITY CEMETERY