PAUL D. COTHERN Jr.

To the Cothern Family -
I am an admirer of Col Cothern. I was assigned to the 1/82d Arty in 1968, arriving at Ft. Lewis on New Years Day. As his S-3 Operation Officer, I joined a couple 2/Lts in a little room with piles of field manuals. We all activated the new battalion, trained them, and even were ready to go to Chicago via C-5A's to face the demonstrations. We even had to train for and pass a TPI in order to be ready to fire nukes in Vietnam if necessary. Col Cothern was a kind,...

I got to know Paul when his son Mike (Sport) was in the Navy. Jill and I would go over to the house to see Cuz and take him out for a night on the town; but more than once we never made it out of the house. We would visit with Paul and Betty Jo and before we knew it we were in the basement having a couple bottles of Paul's homemade beer and listening to old Bob Newhart records. It was great and I really enjoyed being with family.
My symapthy to you, Mike and Shelly, you are in my prayers....

I am grateful for the life of Mr. Cothern. Thanks to his service and to the service of others in our armed forces, my family and I have been able to lead our lives in freedom and peace.