Scope and Contents

The collection consists of approximately 5 linear feet of materials documenting Sergeant Wambi Cook's U.S. Army service as a rifleman and radio telephone operator (RTO) with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade from February 1967 to February 1968. The materials include correspondence regarding Sergeant Cook's wife's allegations of racial discrimination against her husband and her request for Sergeant Cook to be sent home; soil which Sergeant Cook obtained during return trips to Hill 1338 in 2016 and Hill 875 and its vicinity in 2011 and 2017; and a 173rd Airborne Brigade 50th anniversary commemorative coin. Also included are two periodicals and a 173rd Airborne Brigade flag documenting a 2017 trip to Vietnam by Sky Soldier Gene Cartier, as well as a certificate of recognition for the 32nd annual Sky Soldier reunion in Virginia in 2018. The materials are dated 1967 and 2011-2018.

Biographical / Historical

Sergeant Jon Wambi Cook was born December 1946 in Pittsburgh, PA. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in August 1966 and was stationed at Ft. Jackson, SC (August-October 1966), Ft. Gordon, GA (October-December 1966), and Ft. Benning, GA (January-Februay 1967) before deploying to Vietnam. He served in Vietnam as a rifleman and radio telephone operator (RTO) with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade from February 1967 to February 1968. He participated in Operation Junction City I and II, the Battle of Dak To, the Battle of the Slopes (Hill 1338), the Battle of Hill 875, and the Tet Offensive. He received numerous awards including the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the Presidential Unit Citation. He was honorably discharged in August 1968. Following his military service, Sergeant Cook went to college and became an educator.