J. Gary Cooper

Cooper was born on October 2, 1936, in Lafayette, Louisiana. He later attended Most Pure Heart of Mary High School in Mobile, Alabama, 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. In 1967 during the Vietnam War, he became the first African American to command a U.S. Marine Corps infantry company and led it into combat. He left the Marine Corps in 1970. During his time in the Marine Corps, he was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, two Purple Hearts and three Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Crosses. 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 of GenCorp, U.S. Steel, Protective Life, and PNC Financial Services. == Personal life ==

Cooper was the son of Algernon Johnson Cooper Sr. and Gladys Catherine (Mouton) Cooper. Cooper was 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; Peggy Cooper Cafritz, a notable civil rights activist and major donor to the arts in Washington, DC; an AIDS activist and Democratic Party political strategist. Cooper was divorced and had a son and two daughters. ==References==