Raymond Henry Cooley (May 7, 1916 – March 12, 1947) was a soldier who received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for actions in the campaign to recapture the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

from Japanese forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Cooley joined the Army from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

in September 1941.WWII Army Enlistment Records
/ref> Cooley is one of a few known Medal of Honor recipients to have fallen on a grenade and survived.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company B, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Lumboy, Luzon, Philippine Islands, February 24, 1945. Entered service at: Richard City, Tenn. Born: May 7, 1916, Dunlap, Tenn. G.O. No.: 77, September 10, 1945. Citation:

He was a platoon guide in an assault on a camouflaged entrenchment defended by machineguns, rifles, and mortars. When his men were pinned down by 2 enemy machineguns, he voluntarily advanced under heavy fire to within 20 yards of 1 of the guns and attacked it with a hand grenade. The enemy, however, threw the grenade back at him before it could explode. Arming a second grenade, he held it for several seconds of the safe period and then hurled it into the enemy position, where it exploded instantaneously, destroying the gun and crew. He then moved toward the remaining gun, throwing grenades into enemy foxholes as he advanced. Inspired by his actions, 1 squad of his platoon joined him. After he had armed another grenade and was preparing to throw it into the second machinegun position, 6 enemy soldiers rushed at him. Knowing he could not dispose of the armed grenade without injuring his comrades, because of the intermingling in close combat of the men of his platoon and the enemy in the melee which ensued, he deliberately covered the grenade with his body and was severely wounded as it exploded. By his heroic actions, S/Sgt. Cooley not only silenced a machinegun and so inspired his fellow soldiers that they pressed the attack and destroyed the remaining enemy emplacements, but also, in complete disregard of his own safety, accepted certain injury and possible loss of life to avoid wounding his comrades.

After the war

Cooley returned home to Tennessee, where he and fellow Medal of Honor recipients Charles Coolidge and Paul Huff led a

4th of July Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music) In music a fourth is an interval spanning four staff po ...

celebration in 1946. Cooley's life after the war was brief and tragic. He suffered agony from his war wounds and became addicted to both drugs and alcohol. He died from a car accident by running into a brick wall on March 12, 1947. It was determined that he had been driving under the influence. Highway 28 between Jasper and I-24 in Tennessee is now officially named the Raymond H Cooley Highway.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooley, Raymond H. 1916 births 1947 deaths United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II People from Dunlap, Tennessee World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor Road incident deaths in Tennessee

Medal of Honor citation

After the war

See also

References