Mill Valley resident who was captain in 'Buffalo Soldiers' regiment dies
Jim Staats
Article Launched: 10/28/2008 10:27:45 PM PDT
A memorial service will be Saturday in Mill Valley for Harry Cox, a commanding officer of the famed "Buffalo Soldiers" in World War II.
Mr. Cox died Oct. 19 at his home at The Redwoods in Mill Valley. He was 87.
As a captain of the only all-black regiment to see infantry combat in Europe - the 92nd Infantry Division, Mr. Cox helped liberate numerous towns in Italy. The division was nicknamed the "Buffalo Division" after a term originated in the 1860s, when black soldiers volunteered for duty in the untamed West. American Indians used the term Buffalo Soldiers as a token of respect for men whom they considered an honorable enemy.
Mr. Cox's daughter, Lori Grey of San Francisco, said her father was proud of his service and revered as a war hero upon several return trips to Italy, but suffered "war wounds literally and psychologically.
"The added stress they had being a segregated unit and the treatment they received was the deepest war wound," she said. "At times they were treated worse than German and Italian prisoners of war. They were fighting wars on two fronts."
As a no-nonsense lieutenant, Mr. Cox once called the Pentagon by pay phone to complain to Gen. George Marshall about orders that had him going to the wrong company. He got through to Marshall, and orders were changed within an hour.
The infantry's Italian exploits served as the basis for the novel "Miracle at St. Anna" and recent Spike Lee film of the same name. Vernon Baker of St. Maries, Idaho,
second lieutenant in the same infantry unit as Mr. Cox, recalled him as "one of the best artillery men I ever saw."
Baker, one of a handful of African-American soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor several years ago for World War II service, said he "didn't worry about racism" at the time.
"I was a soldier and had a job to do," he said. "A lot of things I don't even want to remember." Born Aug. 15, 1921, in Chicago, Mr. Cox was raised in San Mateo from the age of 2. He spent two years at San Francisco State University before enlisting within days after the U.S. joined World War II in 1941. Mr. Cox, who also served in the Korean War, later ran a San Francisco photography studio before becoming a Realtor in Mountain View and Novato.
Mill Valley resident who was captain in 'Buffalo Soldiers' regiment dies - Marin Independent Journal
Mill Valley resident who was captain in 'Buffalo Soldiers' regiment dies
