Louis A Cox Sr
WWII Army Italy
322 Inf Reg 91st
Louis was drafted February 7, 1944 after he was married. He tried to join the Army several times, but because of his heart problems they wouldn’t take him until after the war had been going and they needed more men. He served on the 5th Army front with the 362nd Infantry Regiment of the 91st “Powder River” Company C in Italy. When his platoon came under intense enemy machine gun fire in an attack, as an automatic rifleman with the leading squad, they located the machine gun and placed accurate fire on it, wounding the gunner and driving the rest of the crew from the gun. When the sniper opened fire on him from a window of a house he fired three magazines into the house, exploding two rooms full of ammunition and explosives that were stored there. As 14 Germans attempted to run from the rear of the house he saw them and ran to a better firing position to engage them. In doing so he received painful burns in the hands from his own weapon. He nevertheless continued to fire wounding several Germans and his platoon to advance onto the house and capture three prisoners. He discharged honorably December 2, 1945 as the rank of PFC.
After the war he came home to Iowa City and started a family with his wife June. He was active with VFW Post 3949 for several years where he served as Commander. He also held state offices in the VFW and volunteered at the VA Hospital. He and his three brothers are named on the Veterans National Recreation Trail at Coralville Lake, Iowa.
Honors Earned: Silver Star, Good Conduct Ribbon, Infantry Combat Badge, Mediterranean Theatre Ribbon with three battle stars for campaigns of Rome and Arnos Upper Apennines, Pr. Valley.
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