Dagmar Cooke (left), wife of the late Command Sgt. Maj. Eric F. Cooke, and his mother, Georgia Cooke (right), unveil a plaque dedicating a guest house at U.S. Army Europe’s Patrick Henry Village to the fallen command sergeant major as Command Sgt. Maj. Bush (far left), V Corps command sergeant major, and Maj. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey (far right), 1st Armored Division commanding general, look on.
USAREUR Dedicates Guest House to Fallen 1AD Soldier CSM Cooke
By: Sgt. Christopher Stanis, 1AD PAO
HEIDELBERG, Germany—U.S. Army Europe dedicated a guest house at Patrick Henry Village to fallen 1st Armored Division Soldier and respected noncommissioned officer leader during a ceremony Sept. 29.
Command Sgt. Maj. Eric F. Cooke, the Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team command sergeant major, was killed in Iraq Dec. 24, 2003, when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.
“He was making his rounds to check on his troops,” said Gen. B. B. Bell, USAREUR commanding general, of the day Cooke was killed. “If it wasn’t him, it would have been one of his Soldiers. He took one for his buddies.”
But that was just the type of Soldier Cooke was, Bell continued, “He shared the mission, he shared the risks, and he shared the accomplishments.”
Cooke has been remembered throughout the Army over the last nine months – memorials at 1AD’s 1BCT and 1st Squadron, 1st Calvary Regiment, and naming the U.S. forces base camp in Taji, Iraq, Camp Cooke, among a few.
"The camp in Taji was renamed for Cooke because with future rotations in Iraq, Camp Cooke will be one of the largest bases in the country, just as the man held one of the highest NCO positions in the division," said Maj. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, 1AD commanding general.
"It is fitting that the guest house serve in his memory because of all the years Cooke dedicated to USAREUR," said Command Sgt. Maj. Gravens, USAREUR command sergeant major.
Though it has been nearly a year since his death, the former “Ready 7” still still influences many Soldiers.
“He was the type of guy every commander hoped to have on his team, every (noncommissioned officer) wanted to be like and every Soldier respected and followed,” said Gravens. “He didn’t just change units for the better, he changed lives.”
“He was a Soldier’s Soldier,” said Dempsey. “He saw the potential in every Soldier. He understood that high standards and tough training was what taking care of Soldiers was all about.”
Gravens said he knew Cooke by reputation long before they ever met, and so his reputation will be remembered for years to come.
“Soldiers of all ages and ranks cried the day Command Sgt. Maj. Cooke died,” Gravens said. “He was quite possibly the greatest sergeant major I’ve ever met.” - Link
