SSGT ROBERT EDMUND COCHRAN

ROBERT EDMUND COCHRAN

Distinguished Service Cross Citation
Distinguished Service Cross See more recipients of this award The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Staff Sergeant [then Sergeant] Robert Edmund Cochran (ASN: RA-18625380), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force while serving with Company D, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division in the Republic of Vietnam. Staff Sergeant Cochran distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 22 September 1967 while serving as an infantry company squad leader during a search and destroy operation in the Ho Bo Woods. The company's lead element sighted what appeared to be an enemy emplacement, and Sergeant Cochran and a radio operator advanced to investigate. They suddenly began receiving heavy fire from a well fortified Viet Cong bunker complex. As Sergeant Cochran returned fire on the insurgents, his comrade, who was ten meters behind him, was seriously wounded by the savage enemy fire. After expending all of his own ammunition, Sergeant Cochran moved through a hail of bullets back to the radio operator, secured the wounded man's rifle, and returned to his previous position to place devastating fire on the Viet Cong fortifications. Once again he ran out of ammunition and crawled to the rear to rearm himself. Securing a grenade launcher and a pistol, he personally assaulted the nearest enemy bunkers. He killed four insurgents at point blank range and was then wounded by fragments from an enemy grenade. Heedless of his wounds, he continued his fierce attack and shouted for the rest of the company to join him. Sergeant Cochran single-handedly destroyed three Viet Cong bunkers with hand grenades while exposed to the lethal enemy fusillade. With complete disregard for his own safety, he made himself a target for withering insurgent fire to protect his advancing fellow soldiers. His dauntless actions were responsible for an overwhelming victory over the determined Viet Cong. Staff Sergeant Cochran's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army. General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Army Vietnam, General Orders No. 1184 (March 18, 1968) Action Date: September 22, 1967 Service: Army Rank: Staff Sergeant Company: Company D Battalion: 4th Battalion Regiment: 9th Infantry, 1st Brigade Division: 25th Infantry Division
Mar 10, 2014

Gary` Snay
garysnay@hotmail.com
Friend
PRESCOTT AZ 86305 United States
Never forgotten
A letter I sent to a relative but the email was no good. garysnay@hotmail.com Hello: My name is Gary Snay and I served with Sgt. Cochran in Viet Nam. I was in Delta Company with him. I knew Ed quite well. We ate meals together often. I remember to this day his smiling face and that big Manchu mustache he sported with great pride. His eyes flashed brightly with every word he spoke. I was one of the guys that went in late at night searching for his body. I helped carry my friend from the battlefield in a plastic poncho. I will never forget the great sadness experienced by all when we found Sgt. Cochran and his radio man in the dark of night. He died in a bombed out section of Saigon. As we searched our way through the bombed out streets, still smoldering from the fires, I saw the glow of North Vietnamese cigarettes, inside what remained of houses along the way. The North Vietnamese waved their cigarettes in the dark creating small streaks of red glowing light. It was pitch dark and one could see the signal clearly. The North Vietnamese were telling us to pass on. They didn't want to fight anymore. They knew we were retrieving our dead and they let us pass in peace. I have never forgotten Sgt. Cochran. It seems not a day has gone by when I haven't thought of him. I have told my son about Sgt. Cochran and have mentioned him many times in conversations with friends, family and strangers alike. Abraham Lincoln said it best when he wrote the mother of fallen soldiers during the Civil War. I have found through the years not even his words can express the feelings you must have, even now. 'I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom. Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,' Abraham Lincoln Regards, Gary Snay 3rd Platoon, Delta Company, 4th Battalion, 9th U.S. Infantry, 25th Infantry Division (Manchu)
May 15, 2013

Davy�Baker
davybaker@suddenlink.net
Another Brother
Kilgore, Tx.
Remembrance
Honoring another hero, on his special day. May God bless and keep you and hold you, in His loving arms. Rest in peace, brave soldier, YOU, ARE NOT FORGOTTEN!!!
Sep 29, 2008

manny g
Fellow Veteran 69-70 An Khe
Union Gap, WA. 98903
�You are Remembered�
Peace and condolence, to the family and friends. �He which hath no stomach, to this fight, let him depart. But we in it, shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.� Rest in peace brave soldier, you have not been forgotten. (W.Shakespeare) May God Bless you, for your Sacrifice!!!
Mar 10, 2007

Bob Castillo
KBolstad@gvtel.com
enlisted man in his company
604, W., Hawthorn St., Santa Maria, Ca., 93458, USA,
Crossing the Bamboo Bridge
Bright lit day, two bamboo, poles and a narrow canal, to cross, to the other side. Two wet skinny poles, tied together, with old rusty wires. Many men, slipped off those poles, early that bright lit day. How cold was the water? An ancient cemetery all quiet, a place that welcomes death. Till those terrifying sounds, erupted and our gallant seargent, lay dead. I carried you, oh gallant, one, in a silent march, amidst thundering flashes, all about. I was a pall bearer, among the others, who knew you. Dangling lamps, neath silken canopies, lit our path. Home, back across, the canal. Just two, little slippery, bamboo, poles, but nobody slipped, this time. Not even, in the dark. We laid, your stiff form, just, on the other side, in the deep, moist, grass. As more and more, of us, made that narrow, bamboo crossing, we fell right there, next, to you, in total exhaustion. Some Knelt, leaning, prayerlike, on their weapons. Till a mass, of humble warriors, formed a protective circle, around you. It was, in honor, of you, gallant, seargent. You, will never, never, be forgotten. Peace
Saturday, October 07, 2000

4th, Battalion, 9th, Infantry Regiment.
Manchu

Monday, February 25, 2002

tony delara
mi.
"not forgotten"
Thursday, September 29, 2005