Edward J. Cox was born on December 14, 1930. He was a native of Jeanette, PA, and left Penn Township High School in 1949 to join the Army. His home of record is Mount Holly, NJ. Cox was married with eight children.
Cox, a career US Army veteran, was a former instructor at Fort Dix and had been in Vietnam eight months serving as a platoon sergeant with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He attained the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSGT).
Cox was killed in action on January 24, 1966, by a sniper bullet. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action, after he rescued a wounded man while under fire in a rice paddy. He was cited for “unimpeachable valor in close combat, exemplifying the highest ideals of the Army.”
Cox was awarded numerous medals, awards and appointments. Some of these include: two Purple Hearts, the General Patton Award for Excellence, Airborne Jumpmaster, 1st Army Rifle Team Instructor, Expert Marksman, Combat Infantryman, Master Parachutist and Special Forces Member. During his long military career, he was stationed all over the world. Some of his assignments were long in duration, including American Samoa, Fort Benning, GA (as an Airborne Infantry Instructor), Pittsburgh, PA (as a Nike missile system specialist); as well as numerous shorter posts in Bordeaux, France, Marburg and Schaffenburg, Germany, Vienna, Austria, throughout Europe, New Jersey, and finally Vietnam.
Cox was buried in Beverly National Cemetery in Beverly, Burlington County, NJ.
My father had eight children at the time of his death, two girls and six boys. He was married to Margaret L. Cox (nee Wagner). He is buried with my mother at Beverly National Cemetery in Beverly, NJ. Dad was a career Army soldier. He was a distinguished member of the 1st US Army Rifle Team, an expert Marksman and weapons instructor. He was the Distinguished Graduate of the 7th Army’s NCO Academy. He was awarded the General Patton Award for Excellence. Dad earned the Silver Star for “Gallantry in Action” on the day of his death.
Written by Edward Cox, Son
I vividly remember the day the Army came to the house with the Next of Kin notification. I’ll try to provide you with what I can. I remember Ed Cox as my father. He met my mother while stationed in Germany around 1949. My mother was a divorcee after the war and worked for the American Army. I can’t provide more details on that issue except her five brothers were vehemently violent against him. I remember when Ed Jr. was born. I lived with my grandmother in Marburg, while Ed and my mother lived wherever he was stationed. Some time in the early 50’s we went to live in Bussac, France. From there we moved to Bad Tolz, Germany, where Ed won his Green Beret with the 10th Special Forces. This was about 1954. From there we moved to the states. Ed went to a Nike Ajax anti-missile battery assigned to protect the greater Pittsburgh area. We lived in Jeannette, PA, the city of his birth. We went back to Germany, and were stationed at Aschaffenburg with the 3rd Infantry Division, when I was in the 5th grade. We lived there until 1961, when we moved to Mt Holly NJ. Ed was a recruiter for the 101st Airborne at Fort Dix, NJ. I remember in 1965, Ed had me drive with him to Fort Campbell with the intent of driving the car back to New Jersey. We got down there and everybody was given some sort of special leave so we drove back and he joined the outfit by plane. He went to Vietnam aboard the ship, the General LeRoy Eltinge (AP-154), a real “rust bucket”, from what I have heard. I spoke with Ed briefly when he was in the Philippines being treated for Malaria. I remember I had a 1956 Lincoln Premier red convertible. I enthusiastically told him about it and he said “you’re still car crazy”. It was fully restored, had he been able to see it he would have understood.
Written by George Kuerner, Stepson
Sources: Edward Cox (son), George Kuerner (stepson) and NJVVMF.
12/17/2024
