Department of Defense civilian carries on Marne legacy

Photo By Sgt. David Turner | Marin Esteban Jr., Bud Cook's father-in-law, proudly displays his service uniform...... read more read more

Photo By Sgt. David Turner | Marin Esteban Jr., Bud Cook's father-in-law, proudly displays his service uniform jacket with the 3rd Infantry Division crest. Esteban served in Korea from 1953 to 1955.  see less | View Image Page

ISKANDARIYAH, IRAQ

12.16.2008

Story by Sgt. David Turner 

4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

✔ ✗ Subscribe

10

By Sgt. David Turner
4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – For civilians working with Soldiers in Iraq, wearing the Army uniform is more than a privilege, it's a lifeline. But for Bud Cook, it's also an unexpected connection to a family heritage.

When Cook arrived at Forward Operating Base Kalsu to work with the 4th Brigade Combat Team's Human Terrain Team, he said he began wearing the uniform to better identify with the Soldiers around him.

"I wanted to know what Soldiers are facing with difficulties in trying to relate to the Iraqi population, and this is a part of the difficulty; it's just the image of the clothing that's worn," he said. Since his work involved not only working closely with Iraqis, but learning about their attitudes and interactions with coalition troops, Cook wanted to blend in better with his 3rd Infantry Division companions. That meant he needed a patch.

"Since nobody was going to give me 3rd [Infantry Division] patches, I had some patches made up from the [Human Terrain System] logo and put those on, because there's nobody that was going out in the field without patches – [They might think] I was [Central Intelligence Agency] or special ops, because I'm obviously not an interpreter – I don't have any language skills, so I must be something else. So I was going to go out patched up."

His self-fashioned shoulder patches attracted the attention of a commander with whom he was working, and he asked what they were.

"I said, 'Well, sir, they are unauthorized patches, but it gives me a little bit of something to hide behind when I'm working with the Iraqi population.' He was like, 'Why don't you have the 3rd [Inf. Div.] patches?' I said, 'Well, because nobody's patched me up.' The next morning, this major came out, and he's got two sets of patches and said, 'Put these on, you're part of the Bulldogs now.'"

Cook's life has long been connected to the military. The grandson of an Army colonel and son of a former Marine, he served in the Navy in Vietnam and afterward worked as a private contractor at Fort Hood, Texas. As a social scientist, doing research at the University of Hawaii, he studied the effects of war and cultural trauma on Native American veterans. He knew that his father-in-law, a Hawaiian of Filipino heritage, had served in the Army, but the two never really talked about his service.

"As far I know, the only time he ever went to a veteran's event was when I gave a speech at a Veteran's Day ceremony, and it took a lot of courage for him to go do that," Cook said. "He basically never puts it out there. He has never spoken about any of this with anyone; none of his children [three sons and daughter] went into the military."

Then something happened which stirred his father-in-law's memories.

"When I learned I was coming to the 3rd [Inf. Div.] back in June, I was on the phone with my wife, and she was at her parent's house. When she told mom and dad, he said, 'Is he with the Marne?''

"He leaves the living room and goes back into his bedroom and comes back out and after 60 years, has his service jacket. On a patch on one side is the 1st Inf. Div. shield and on the other side are the 3rd Inf. Div. stripes. He pointed at that, and he said, 'Is Bud with the Marne?' I said, 'Yeah, it's the Rock of the Marne. It's the 3rd Infantry slogan.'"

"My wife was completely blown away that she'd never seen this jacket her whole life, that dad knew exactly [where it was] in his closet– because they had lived in one house for the last 45, 50 years – and dad could walk in and pick this jacket exactly out of his closet and bring it out to show to her; and it's crisp; and it's beautiful; and it's nice. So he had obviously taken care of it."

Cook's father-in law, Martin Esteban Jr., enlisted in the Army after a year of college and served in Korea from 1953 to 1955. When he returned to the states, he served in the 3rd Inf. Div. until 1956. His son-in-law's connection to the 3rd Inf. Div. brought up pleasant memories for him of his time in the unit, a time he remembers when "there was a sense of hope everywhere."

"I made friends with a lot of the Latino and Native American Soldiers," Esteban recalled of his time stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash. "These guys, along with Soldiers out of Texas, became my buddies for the time I was stationed there."

"There was a [long] tradition within the division ... the name 'Rock of the Marne' gave us a sense of coming from a division that did some amazing things in WWI," he said.

Esteban said he preserved his service uniform as "something to help remind me and my children of my military service, hopefully doing something to contribute to my country. It is the only keepsake I have from that time in my life."

The connection gave the two veterans something more to share. In the meantime, Cook sent home two of his new, subdued green patches for his father-in-law to have as souvenirs.

Esteban said he's proud of the work his son-in-law is doing and proud that he is carrying on the Marne legacy.

"Hopefully, with all of our military forces hard at work there, we can find a way to capture and stop the terrorists and al-Qaida, and that our Soldiers can once again return to their families safe and whole and that we can return the power and responsibility back to the Iraqi people," he said.