Jerome Gary Cooper (born October 2, 1936) is a former officer of the United States Marine Corps who served as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) from 1989 to 1992, and as United States Ambassador to Jamaica from 1994 to 1997.

Biography

Cooper was born on October 2, 1936, in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

.George Bush Nomination of Cooper to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force
/ref> He later attended Most Pure Heart of Mary High School in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, graduating in 1954. He was then educated at the University of Notre Dame, receiving a B.S. degree in finance in 1958. The June 1958 commencement program lists him as Gary Mouton Cooper (Mouton was his mother's maiden name). After participating in Naval ROTC during college, Cooper joined the United States Marine Corps. During the Vietnam War, he became the first African American to ever command a Marine Corps infantry

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

.Cached version of Marine Corps Bio
/ref> He left the Marine Corps in 1970. During his time in the Marine Corps, he was awarded the

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritoriou ...

, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

, two Purple Hearts and three Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Crosses. In 1970, Cooper left the Marine Corps, though he continued to serve as a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. From 1970, he was director of an insurance company and funeral home that had been owned by his family for decades in

. He was elected to the

Alabama Legislature The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chambers serv ...

in 1973. In 1978, the

Governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

named Cooper to his cabinet, with Cooper becoming Commissioner of the Alabama State Department of Human Resources. Cooper attended the program for Senior Executives in Government at Harvard University in 1979. He joined David Volkert and Associates, a regional engineering and architectural firm in Mobile, Alabama, as vice president for marketing in 1981. In 1988, Cooper returned to active duty in the Marine Corps, being promoted to major general and becoming director of personnel at Headquarters Marine Corps. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1989, when President of the United States

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

nominated Cooper to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) and, after Senate confirmation, he held this office until 1992. In this capacity, he played a role in planning the Gulf War. Cooper returned to David Volkert and associates in 1992. In 1994, President Bill Clinton named Cooper United States Ambassador to Jamaica, and Cooper presented his credentials to Governor-General of Jamaica Sir Howard Cooke on November 4, 1994. He left his post as ambassador on November 27, 1997. Cooper returned to his home in Mobile in December 1997. He later became CEO of Commonwealth National Bank, and has served on the

Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of GenCorp,

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...

, Protective Life, and

PNC Financial Services The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (stylized as PNC) is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 U.S. state, states and the D ...

Personal life

Cooper is the son of Algernon Johnson Cooper Sr. (June 29, 1908 – November 6, 1968) and Gladys Catherine (Mouton) Cooper (December 10, 1910 – April 1, 1989). Cooper is Catholic, and his family was the first to have three generations of African Americans attend Notre Dame. His siblings include Algernon J. Cooper Jr., one of the first Black mayors in the nation, and Peggy Cooper Cafritz, a notable civil rights activist. Cooper is divorced and has a son and two daughters.

References

External links

Embassy of the United States – Kingston, Jamaica
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Jerome Gary 1936 births Living people People from Lafayette, Louisiana African-American Catholics People from Mobile, Alabama Mendoza College of Business alumni African-American United States Navy personnel United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War American businesspeople Members of the Alabama House of Representatives Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Marine Corps generals United States Air Force civilians African-American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Jamaica 21st-century African-American people African Americans in the Vietnam War 20th-century African-American people