Fred Duncan Cooksey, Jr.

"Ted"

Marine Corps Reserve | Service Number 418822

Born

June 24, 1922
in Putney, GA

Parents

Fred Duncan Cooksey, Sr. (d. 1943)
Jessie (Shippey) Cooksey (d. 1932)

School

Sylvester High School

Pre-War Employment

Details unknown

Entered Service

August 25, 1942
at Macon, GA

Joined First Battalion

October 25, 1942
from 6th Separate Recruit Battalion

Left First Battalion

March 7, 1945
Killed in action at Iwo Jima

Left Service

March 7, 1945
Killed in action

Home Address and Next of Kin

518 Reed Street, Waycross, GA – address of sister, Mrs. Nadine (Cooksey) Rogers

Service & Campaigns

Before joining battalion

Boot camp at New River, North Carolina with Sixth Separate Recruit Battalion. Outposted directly to Dog Company, First Separate Battalion (Reinforced) at New River on 25 October 1942.

Roi-Namur

Outfit: D/1/24th Marines (3rd MG Platoon)
Rank: Private First Class
MOS: 504 (Ammunition Carrier)

Campaign Narrative

Saipan

Outfit: C/1/24th Marines (MG Platoon)
Rank: Private First Class
MOS: 604 (Machine Gunner)
Important Events:
July 8, 1944 – possibly wounded in action; cause and circumstances unknown. Reported on battalion muster rolls, no USMC casualty card or report of Purple Heart award.

Campaign Narrative

Tinian

Outfit: C/1/24th Marines (MG Platoon)
Rank: Private First Class
MOS: 604 (Machine Gunner)

Campaign Narrative

Iwo Jima

Outfit: C/1/24th Marines (MG Platoon)
Rank: Corporal
MOS: 604 (Machine Gunner)
Important Events:
March 7, 1945 – killed in action (shrapnel wounds, head); exact circumstances unknown
March 10, 1945 – buried in Plot 1, Grave 27, Grave 1332, Fourth Marine Division Cemetery

Campaign Narrative

Individual Decorations

Medal
Purple Heart

Campaign
Iwo Jima (March 7, 1945)

Citation

The worst thing was seeing guys get blown up from mortar shells, that was the hardest part.... I was sharing a foxhole with Cooksey, and after I left to go to another foxhole, a mortar shell hit the foxhole with Cooksey.