Latta veteran receives Citadel degree 64 years later

Leonard Cohen, a Latta native, was in his junior year at The Citadel when he was called to serve his country during World War II.

Cohen, who was studying business administration, was a member of The Citadel’s class of 1944, also known as “The Class That Never Was,” because the class never had a commencement ceremony since it was drafted.

After the war, some returned to the school to finish their degrees, but some didn’t.

Sixty-four years after that class would have graduated, the remaining members received honorary degrees and special recognition at The Citadel’s 2008 commencement.

Being drafted

Cohen, who grew up in the small town of Latta with his sister, Bernice, was able to drive at the age of 13. He played marbles, was a member of his high school football team and went swimming during his free time.

In August 1941, Cohen began his collegiate career at The Citadel.

On Dec. 7, 1941, a Japanese naval fleet attacked Pearl Harbor, the U.S. military and naval facilities on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

Right away, Cohen said, the government started drafting single men who were at least 21 years old.

Cohen, who was then only 17 years old, wasn’t called for duty until 1943.

“The war was getting so bad for the Americans,” he said. “At that time, the Japanese had knocked out our (U.S.) Navy, so we were in a stage where we had to have more people.”

The draft age was later decreased from 21 to 18, Cohen said, and that’s when he knew he was going to have to serve his country.

Serving in the U.S. Army was a task Cohen said he was willing to do honorably.

Tour of duty

Cohen joined the U.S. Army at Fort Jackson on June 15, 1943.

He was a member of the 102nd Infantry Division (The Ozarks), 405th Infantry Regiment, Company E. The Ozarks became operational Nov. 3, 1944.

Cohen left for duty in Europe on Nov. 20, 1944. His entire tour of duty was spent in Germany.

The 102nd Infantry Division spent the rest of 1944 and 1945 fighting in several locations along the Roer, Rhine and Elbe rivers.

On April 12, 1945 — the same day President Franklin D. Roosevelt died and President Harry S. Truman became the 33rd president of the United States — Cohen’s company found what was known as the first fighter jet, a Messerschmitt ME 262, in a hanger at an airfield in Gardelegen, Germany.

“I decided I was going to walk around and see what was going on,” he said. “I see in this hangar is a German jet.”

Cohen’s company captured the fighter jet, which is now on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

After the war ended on V-E (Victory in Europe) Day, on May 7, 1945, Cohen spent the “occupation” time with a G-2 Intelligence Division.

The 102nd Infantry Division occupied several locations, including Altmark, Saxony, and Franconia, Bavaria.

While with the Intelligence Division, Cohen worked to help displaced people return to their hometowns, including those from France, Holland, Poland and other nearby countries.

On March 3, 1946, the 102nd Infantry Division sailed from Le Havre, France, and was deactivated.

Civilian life

Cohen, who was a staff sergeant by the time he was honorably discharged, had been awarded several medals of honor, including the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in ground combat.

In 1947, Cohen married Mildred Friedman of Baltimore and returned to Latta to work with his father at I. Cohen & Son department store. In 1970, Cohen and his wife moved to Florence. She died in 1999.

They had three children: Donna Cohen of Florence, Harvey Cohen of Los Angeles and Robert Cohen of Atlanta.