Among Walden’s many heroes, one in particular comes to mind this time of year as we prepare to honor our country’s deceased veterans; that man is Joel Harmon Cook (1946-1994). Joel was born in Brooklyn, NY and lived in Walden. He is remembered locally and nationally for his war service in Vietnam and for his many activities stemming from that experience.

Joel Cook was drafted in August 1969 and was stationed with the Army in Vietnam from January 1970 to March 1971. According to his family, Joel served in the 17th Air Cavalry Division and performed helicopter rescue in Vietnam. When he returned home to Walden, Joel joined the William Deakin post of the American Legion.

Many veterans deal with the lingering effects of combat, but few are able to harness that energy and focus it in such a way that it changes their lives and the lives of the families of numerous other service men and women the way Joel Cook did. The memory of his unit’s inability to rescue many in the field, was the impetus for his lifelong devotion to the POW/MIA cause.

In 1974 he joined the National League of POW/MIA Families, a nationwide organization founded in 1970 it was “formed to obtain the release of all prisoners, the fullest possible accounting for the missing and repatriation of all recoverable remains of those who died serving our nation during the Vietnam War.”

According to their website, the League’s Board of Directors “approved the design (for a flag) and on January 22-23, 1972, POW/MIA flags were manufactured for distribution. To ensure the widest possible dissemination and use of this symbol to advocate for improved treatment for America’s POWs and answers on our MIAs, no trademark or copyright was sought.”

But it wasn’t until Joel founded the National Human Rights Committee for POW/MIAs on July 7, 1977, that the push to recognize and fly the flag took place. From his home on Hill St, he traveled all over the country promoting awareness of the POW/MIA issue and fighting for closure for the families of missing service members. With others, he testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 1985 to urge the Federal Government to establish policies that would lead to the repatriation of the remains of our fallen soldiers and to open channels that would make it possible to search for others still listed as missing in action.

In 1998 the US Department of State issued reports on the repatriation efforts taking place in Southeast Asia commencing in 1993, a year before Joel died of cancer, probably the result of exposure to Agent Orange while he was serving in Vietnam. Since that time, many soldiers have been identified and their remains returned to their families for burial. However, the National League of POW/MIA Families reminds us that as of May 20, 2022, the number of Americans missing and unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War is still 1,584.

In his lifetime, Joel Cook received many awards. In addition to service awards earned while he was in the Army, he received many honorary awards recognizing his lifetime of work for the POW/MIA cause including Vietnam Vet of the Year and Legionnaire of the Year. The local American Legion Post 158 was renamed in his honor. It is now the William Deakin-Joel H Cook Chapter. On September 18, 1995, the Hon. Benjamin Gilman read a tribute to Joel Cook into the Congressional Record highlighting Joel’s dedication to the POW/MIA cause and reporting that the Village of Walden had proclaimed September 24, 1995 “JOEL COOK DAY.”

Thanks to Joel Cook, the POW/MIA flag is now a familiar site to all, flying over all military installations and many municipal and private facilities. We were reminded of this recently when Sergeant Bobby Montanaro, of the Walden PD posted a photo on Facebook of the newly replaced American and POW/MIA flags at the Veterans’ Park in Walden with the comment “Just in time for Memorial Day.”