J. Gary Cooper

J. Gary Cooper was born on October 2, 1936, in Lafayette, Louisiana. Cooper’s remarkable journey of service to our state and country began in 1958, when he was commissioned second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. While serving in Vietnam in 1966, Cooper became the first African American Marine Corps officer to lead an infantry company into combat. After serving as an active duty Marine Corp officer from 1958-1970, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve and in 1971, became the first African American to command a Marine reserve unit. In 1984, he was promoted to brigadier general, becoming the first African American to attain the rank of general from the Marine infantry ranks.

Cooper was raised in the “Down the Bay” section of Mobile, Alabama, south of the Mobile Civic Center. He graduated from Most Pure Heart of Mary High School in 1954 and enrolled at the University of Notre Dame where he was one of only three African Americans in his 1958 class of 1,500. While at Notre Dame, he joined The Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). After graduating with a degree in finance, he was commissioned second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Within a year, he was promoted to first lieutenant, and in 1963 to captain.

During Cooper’s decorated military career, he reached the rank of major general and earned the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm, Silver and Bronze Stars. In 1989, President George HW. Bush nominated, and the Senate confirmed, Cooper as the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, Installations, and the Environment. During his tenure as Assistant Secretary, he participated in the planning of Operation Desert Storm.

Outside of his military service, in 1973, Cooper and John LeFlore were the first African Americans elected to the Alabama House of Representatives, from Mobile, since Reconstruction. In 1978, Alabama Governor George Wallace appointed Cooper Commissioner of the Alabama State Department of Human Resources. In this Cabinet position, he managed a staff of over 4,000 and the largest agency budget in the state. In 1994, President Bill Clinton nominated, and the Senate confirmed, Cooper to serve as the United States Ambassador to Jamaica, a position held from 1994-1997.

As a private citizen, Cooper has served as Director and Corporate officer of Christian Benevolent Funeral Home, Inc. This family-owned business has been in operation for over eighty-five years. In 1976, he co-founded Commonwealth National Bank in Mobile, Alabama, the first minority-owned and operated bank in Alabama. For 13 years he served as vice president and senior vice president at David Volkert and Associates, a regional engineering and architectural firm. He has also served on the Boards of GenCorp, United States Steel Corporation, Protective Life Corporation, PNC Financial Service Group, Inc., Talladega College, and Spring Hill College.