Decorated World War II hero and successful businessman Harold Cohen, 89, died Tuesday in Tifton.

Cohen, a first-generation American of Russian decent, placed a high value on freedom.

“I don’t know if I’m an American hero, but I’m proud to be an American,” Cohen said to General Dennis Reimer, Army Chief of Staff, several years ago at a ceremony. “My proudest possession is my American citizenship.”

One of Cohen’s many close friends, Don Pearson Sr., said Tuesday that Cohen didn’t talk much about his military service.

“There was only one occasion that the two of us were together alone and he shared with me some of the things I read about later that had happened,” Pearson said. “It was just amazing.

“You would never realize that this man who was so gentle was involved in those things in that war.”

Cohen made several attempts to join the armed forces in 1941 after Pearl Harbor and was denied entry because of his poor vision. He persisted and was admitted into the military after signing a waiver. Two years and five months later, he would become a lieutenant colonel and lead an armored infantry battalion that, with Creighton Abrams’ 37th Tank Battalion, spearheaded the drive of George S. Patton’s Third Army across Germany.

Soon after that, Cohen arrived in England with his unit, the 10th Armored Infantry Battalion, as its supply officer. It was 38 days after D-Day when the battalion arrived in France. Cohen earned his first of many battlefield promotions there and rose from supply officer to leader of the battalion.

“Most of us are never put into a position to be tested and many of us never know what our capabilities are along certain lines,” Cohen wrote in a biographical sketch.

Cohen’s battalion commander Arthur L. West was wounded while surveying the 10th’s forward lines. Cohen, now second in command, quickly took responsibility of leading the battalion. He was given command of the 10th Armored Infantry Battalion. Creighton Abrams had already become impressed with Cohen’s will and courage and the two paired their battalions together to form a quick and effective troop.

Within weeks, fear of Abrams and Cohen spread throughout Germany. Billboards warned German soldiers and civilians to beware of “Roosevelt’s Highest Paid Butchers,” Abrams and Cohen. Cohen said that he and Abrams “got a kick out” of the notifications and “fear is another strategy of war and if you’ve got it working for you, you use it advantageously.”

Cohen was awarded the Legion of Merit, four Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts, as well as being decorated by the governments of France, Czechoslovakia and Luxembourg. Fifty years later, Cohen would be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Cohen moved to Tifton in 1950 and married Bettye Pincus. He joined his brothers in the family business, Cohen’s Department Stores.

Pearson said that he has known Cohen since then and remembers riding around with his father and seeing Cohen’s Department Stores all over South Georgia.

“They had signs like McDonald’s has now,” Pearson said. “About eight years ago, I was riding through the backwoods to Douglas and saw one of the last signs ever that was Cohen’s Department Store.

“It was hanging on an old pine tree. It brought back some fond memories.”

In the mid-60s, Cohen founded his own outdoor advertising company known as Tri-State Systems. In 1989, he sold it and retired.

Pearson said that he went into the insurance business in the 1960s and Cohen was always encouraging.

“He had those words of encouragement for young business people,” Pearson said. “That always touched me.”

Pearson and his wife Linda became close friends of Harold and Bettye Cohen over the years.

“One of the most interesting things about Harold and Bettye was that they were friends with most everyone but their closest following was people younger than them,” Pearson said. “People were attracted to them and Harold said the only way he could stay young was to hang around young people.”

Pearson said that Cohen had a strong leadership quality.

“He, in my opinion, truly personified and represented, without a doubt, what Tom Brokaw wrote about ‘The Greatest Generation,’” Pearson said. “He was that.”

Cohen is survived by two children and their spouses and four grandchildren. Bettye Cohen died in November 2005.



To contact city editor Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.