Scope and Contents

The collection consists of approximately half of a linear foot of materials documenting 1st Lieutenant Kent Cockson's service as commanding officer of the 5th Public Information Detachment assigned to II Corps Headquarters (later I Field Force Vietnam) from January to November 1971. The materials include copies of 5th Public Information Detachment publications Morning News and Typhoon; a prepublication mockup of the October 1971 issue of Typhoon (the final issue of the magazine); a draft of Chapter 12 of Cockson's memoir detailing his Jungle School training before going to Vietnam, as well as memorable moments and experiences from his Vietnam service; and a news article written by Cockson about Walter Hammond, a USMC veteran who served in 1967 along the DMZ in South Vietnam and who survived the Battle of Hill 48. The materials are dated 1967-1971, 2007, and 2020.

Biographical / Historical

Kent Cockson was born in Nebraska. He served as a U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant in Nha Trang, Vietnam from January to November 1971. He was the last Vietnam era commanding officer of the 5th Public Information Detachment (5th PID) assigned to II Corps Headquarters, which became First Field Force Vietnam (IFFV) and then the Second Regional Assistance Command before the final U.S. withdrawal from South Vietnam in April 1975.

As the 5th PID's executive officer, Lieutenant Cockson was the editor-in-chief of the monthly (later quarterly) Typhoon magazine that was distributed throughout the region. He simultaneously served as editor of and contributor to the Morning News - 8 x 14 inch news sheets that the 5th PID published and distributed to the various U.S. Armed Forces units in and around Nha Trang, including Hon Tre Island in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Lieutenant Cockson married Foley, AL native Sylvia Staton. The couple has four grown sons - all U.S. Armed Forces veterans.