Born: 1919
Died:
Campaigns Served: Namur, Saipan, Tinian (wounded), Iwo Jima
Highest Rank Attained: Major
Decorations: Purple Heart
Milton Cokin was the commanding officer of Baker Company, 24th Marines, from their inception in August, 1943, until the fall of 1944.
Captain Cokin earned a reputation as a solid commander during the battle of Namur. His company became the focal point of an intense banzai attack in the early morning of February 2, 1944. As the Japanese attempted to exploit a gap between Baker and Item Companies, Cokin organized a defense that proved so effective that the attacking force was annihilated after thirty-five minutes. When the lines were inspected and reorganized, it was found the company had even managed to gain fifty yards - a considerable distance on an island as small as Namur. Despite suffering the heaviest casualties of the entire battalion - 22 killed and 28 wounded - Cokin's company accounted for hundreds of enemy soldiers, helping to break the back of the remaining resistance.
The scene of the banzai attack against Baker Company. Official USMC Photo.
On Saipan, Cokin faced a different challenge - leading a company drastically short of officers. Within a week of the landing, he had only two platoon leaders left. By the end of the Marianas campaign, Baker Company was reduced to only a handful of survivors; Captain Cokin was among the wounded during the last days of Tinian.
Baker Company after Tinian.
In the fall of 1944, Cokin was promoted to Major and reassigned to Regimental Headquarters as Assistant R-3 - Operations Officer. Though present on Iwo Jima, it seemed that his days of front-line combat were behind him.
By the beginning of March 1945, though, the unbelievable casualty rate was forcing commanders of all echelons to rethink their strategies. First Battalion, 24th Marines, was so badly mauled that its Charlie Company had virtually ceased to exist. A major reorganization was undertaken in the early morning of March 9. The battalion commander, Major Paul Treitel, was relieved and replaced with Lt. Colonel Austin Brunelli; Charlie Company was disbanded and, along with the assault platoon and any other available enlisted men, were divided among Able and Baker companies. The acting commanders of those two companies were replaced by two familiar faces: their original commanders, Major Irving Schechter and Major Milton Cokin.
When the fighting on Iwo ceased, Cokin returned to his position on Regimental staff. He was there when the war ended.
Major Schechter, one of the most highly decorated Marines in the Fourth Division, said of Cokin: "We had another great guy in our battalion, Captain Cokin, who had B Company. I can't think of one thing I did in the war that Cokin didn't equal."
Milton Cokin retired from the Marine Corps as a colonel.