John V . Cox John V . Cox ( born March 26 , 1930 ) is a retired American military officer . A native of Missouri , he served nearly 33 years as a United States Marine Corps naval aviator before retiring with the rank of Major General . Cox served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War , flying 292 combat missions and earned several important medals and awards during his career . Early life . John Cox , son of coal miner Norris Cox and wife Ruth , was born and raised in Bevier , Macon County , Missouri along with older brother Lynn and sisters Josephine and Nancy . Despite the death of his father when he was just nineteen years old , Cox was able to attend $ 3 in Kirksville , earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in May , 1952 . After graduation from Northeast Missouri State he joined the Marine Corps through their officer candidate program and reported to Marine Officers Basic School at Quantico , Virginia on July 10 , 1952 . Military career . John V . Cox was commissioned a Marine Corps second lieutenant upon his graduation from Officers Basic School in September , 1952 and was assigned to naval aviator training shortly afterward . He completed flight training and was designated a Naval Aviator in July , 1954 . Lieutenant Cox first assignment was to Marine Corps Air Station Miami and the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain ( CV - 39 ) , the first of a dozen carriers he would serve on in his career . In 1957 , after completing a one - year tour as an air and naval gunfire platoon leader , Cox was assigned to VMF - 451 flying the FJ - 4 Fury from duty stations at MCAS El Toro , NAF Atsugi , and PingTung , Taiwan during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis . After transitioning to the Vought F - 8 Crusader , Cox joined VMFA - 333 in 1959 and later returned to Quantico to attend Communications Officers School in 1962 . Following the latest schooling he returned to MCAS El Toro as Communications Officer of MAG - 15 and then Operations officer for VMA - 513 . During the latter assignment Cox did his first of two tours in Vietnam , flying 95 combat missions in the F - 4 Phantom . In 1965 Cox returned to the Midwestern U . S . for duty at NAS Olathe ( Kansas ) , and then Armed Forces Staff College in 1967 . He served two years as an instructor at the Naval War College from 1967 to 1969 then was named commanding officer of VMFA - 115 . Now a Lieutenant Colonel , Cox returned to Vietnam from 1969 to 1970 for a second tour of duty as both commander of VMFA - 115 and executive officer of Marine Aircraft Group 13 , stationed at Chu Lai Air Base . Colonel Cox achieved a career milestone during the tour and was featured in the May 24 , 1970 Pacific edition of " Stars and Stripes " as he flew his 200th combat mission and achieved 4 , 000 accident - free flying hours on the same mission . Following his second Vietnam tour , Colonel Cox served in varied positions throughout the early and mid - 1970s , including serving on the staff of Commander in Chief , Pacific Command ( CINCPAC ) under Admiral John S . McCain , Jr . and executive officer of MCAS Kaneohe Bay . Cox was selected to attend the National War College , which he graduated from in 1974 , and then served at Headquarters Marine Corps . While in the Washington , D . C . area he also earned a Master from George Washington University . John V . Cox was promoted to Brigadier general on November 4 , 1977 . With his new rank he served in assignments as Assistant commander of the 1st Marine Air Wing , commanding general of the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade , and duty as Assistant Chief of Staff then Deputy Chief of Staff for Research , Development and Studies as Headquarters Marine Corps . He began the 1980s as commanding general of MCAS El Toro , and was promoted to Major General on April 9 , 1981 . Cox served as commanding general of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing until May , 1982 . In June of that year General Cox began his final assignment in the Marine Corps as Director of Oeperations ( J - 3 ) for the Commander in Chief at Camp H . M . Smith , Hawaii . He retired from the Marine Corps on July 1 , 1985 . During his career he amassed 5 , 043 hours total flight time and was a rated pilot in nearly every Marine Corps fixed - wing aircraft of the Cold War era , including the F6F Hellcat , AD - 4 Skyraider , FJ - 4 Fury , F8U Crusader , and F - 4 Phantom II . After retirement Major General Cox remained active with the Navy League of the United States , the Marine Corps Aviation Association , Navy Relief , and occasional speaking engagements . General Cox and wife Pat reside in McClean , Virginia .