Remembering heroes
Statue dedicated as part of Military Heritage Program

Katie Colleran | staff editor
kcolleran@smcvt.edu

Cook is now a permanent fixture at his alma mater. Katie Colleran, photo

Paul Palmer remembers Donald Cook, his St. Michael's College '56 classmate, as a quiet, gentle person who others looked up to. That person has now been immortalized in stone.

Cook lost his life as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam. On Sept. 30, a statue of him was dedicated behind Merrill Cemetery in honor of past and present St. Michael’s alumni who served in the military. The statue is part of the Military Heritage Program, started by Palmer and fellow 1956 graduates.

A stony likeness

As part of President Neuhauser’s inaugural weekend, the statue dedication was held at 10 a.m. across from the college's east entrance, where the statue now stands. With the president, military personnel, the family of Donald Cook and others in attendance, the statue was blessed and Cook was remembered.

“If Don was here now, he’d say, ‘Hey, I’m not worthy to be up there,'" says Cook’s widow Laurette, who spoke at the ceremony.

The statue is an excellent likeness of her husband, Laurette says. Carved by Ryan Mays of Celestial Memorial Sculpting Studio in Barre, Vt., it is the focal point of a developing commemoration to all military heroes.

“This is for all veterans, but he [Cook] stood out for his courageousness,” Palmer says.

The setting for the statue was chosen for its removed, quiet atmosphere, says Richard DiVenere, vice president of Institutional Advancement.

“We wanted to put it in a place of prominence and there was no where appropriate on campus,” he says. “Here, people coming to the college would always see it.”

Not yet finished, the memorial will soon have lights, benches and other details, Palmer says.

Palmer, a former Marine himself, chairs the Military Heritage Program that funded the memorial. Working over the years, the program has raised money for a monument as well as a scholarship to be given in memory of Cook. From the fund, $86,000 was put toward the memorial and other gifts and donations were set aside for a scholarship.  The scholarship is given to a student who currently has or has had a family member in the military; it can also go to students participating in the Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC).  

Senior Ashley Tabor, a member of ROTC, has been receiving the scholarship for the past three years.

“We came up with this [Military Heritage Program] in 2001, at our 45th anniversary,” Palmer says. “The idea was hatched from amongst my classmates, an idea that we should recognize a courageous member of our class in some way, some fashion and try to memorialize it here at St. Michael’s College.”

Palmer says he hopes people will continue to donate to the Military Heritage Program so that the memorial can be completed and the scholarship maintained.

Heroic legacy

Laurette met Cook, a Brooklyn, N.Y. native, while he was a student at St. Michael’s. Speaking at the dedication, she recalled how her husband felt strongly about justice and helping others.

Laurette Cook spoke about her husband's faith and his commitment to justice. Katie Colleran, photo

“A devout Catholic, Don was raised with the ideals of giving to others through community service and leadership through example,” she says. “These ideals shaped his life as well as those around him.”

Serving in Vietnam, Cook took these ideals with him. There for only one month, Cook volunteered for a rescue mission, was captured and held as a prisoner of war for three years, and then died somewhere in South Vietnam, Laurette says.

“Throughout his period of imprisonment, Don encouraged, cared for and counseled other American prisoners of war,” she says. “He carried the load of others when they were not able to do it themselves."

Specific details of Cook’s time in Vietnam were not known until recently when a biography, written by former Marine Donald Price, was published. The book documents Cook’s experience as the first Marine captured in Vietnam.

“I had no idea about some of the stuff until I read the book,” Palmer says. “He’s [Price] done so much research and used all his own money.”

Price is not looking to earn that money back. The money raised from book sales will go toward benefiting the Cook grandchildren, Palmer says. Cook’s granddaughter, Olivia Spaulding, is a first-year at St. Michael’s.

For his effort on behalf of his country, Cook was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and the U.S. Navy named a ship for him.

“For some, it’s difficult to hear this story and not see Don as a super-human, but he wasn’t,” Laurette says. “He was a young man just like so many here on this campus today, who saw himself as part of the world around him. One man who thought he could make a difference, and he did.” 

Keeping their spirit alive

St. Michael’s has other ways of remembering its military graduates. The Klein Center and Merrill Cemetery are both named for men who served in Vietnam, DiVenere says. There is also a plaque in the chapel for alumni who lost their lives serving in the military.

Palmer says all students should be aware of the school’s military tradition, from the founding of “Miketown," the collection of barracks brought down from Fort Ethan Allen and used as housing for returning World War II veterans, to its ROTC program.

“I think of it [St. Michael's military heritage] as a basis for the education students get,” he says. “It is all part of the school’s heritage and today’s students, and future ones, should understand that.”

And though Laurette doesn’t always agree with war, she recognizes that the military deserves attention for its efforts.

“They are doing such an important job,” she says. “Without them, where would we be?”

The Donald Cook Detachment of the Marine Corps League stands at attention during the ceremony. Katie Colleran, photo