Colonel Fredric C. Cook
USMA 1934
Retired Army Col. Fredric Carson Cook, whose 36-year
military career included surviving the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor, died at the age of 91. Cook, who died
Tuesday at Methodist Hospital, had been ill for the past
three years, said his daughter, Mary Catherine Cook of
San Antonio. His life and career were closely tied to Fort
Sam Houston, where he served three tours of duty. Fredric
Cook's father, Alonzo Ellsworth Cook, was with the cavalry
and stationed at Fort Sam Houston in the early part of the
20th century. "My grandfather had been stationed at Fort Sam
Houston, and my father was intimately associated with it,"
Mary Catherine Cook said. "Fort Sam Houston was his
whole life." Born Aug. 27, 1910, in Fort Hamilton, N.Y.,
Fredric Cook graduated from the U S Military Academy at
West Point in 1934. Following a stint at the Industrial College
of the Armed Forces in Washington, his first assignment was
with the 9th Infantry Regiment at Fort Sam Houston, where
he served as platoon leader and company commander until
1937. In 1940, Cook received his first overseas assignment
to Hawaii where he was battalion staff officer with the 27th
Infantry Regiment. Cook, by then a captain, was at Pearl
Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked it.
"Like most men of that generation, he never talked about it
(Pearl Harbor) although he once said that it was a lot more
dreadful than it was portrayed in the movies," Mary Catherine
Cook said. After Pearl Harbor Cook was assigned assist in
the training of the 100th Battalion. Activated in June l942
the 100th was the first all-Japanese Nisei (American-born
Japanese) unit. Sent to Italy, the 100th Battlalion suffered
heavy casualties. Cook returned to the mainland in October
1942, and after a series of assignments stateside, he was sent
to Japan, where he served with the U. S. Far Eastern Command.
Other assignments included serving with the Department of
the Army in Washington and commanding U. S. forces in
Austria. Cook returned to Fort Sam Houston in 1955, where
he was assistant chief of staff at 4th Army headquarters. His
last overseas tour was in Iran. Following another stint at the
Pentagon Cook returned to Fort Sam Houston in February
1962. He retired in July 1964. Cook joined the city and
established the first comprehensive fire casualty and property
insurance program. In addition to Mary Catherine Cook, he
is survived by another daughter, Ellen Stough of Washington;
and two brothers, William Cook and Warren Cook, both of
San Antonio.
The service is 3 p. m. today at the Main Post Chapel at Fort
Sam Houston with entombment with full military honors in
the Sunset Memorial Park Mausoleum. Porter Loring Mortuary,
at 1101 McCullough, is handling arrangements.
(Reprinted from San Antonio Express News,
Sunday, September 20, 2000)