COL. USA (RET.) Frank Cohn

On Saturday, July 4, 2026, Frank passed away at his home peacefully with his family by his side. Frank Cohn was born in 1925 in Breslau, Germany. At age 13, he and his parents fled Germany on Visitor’s Visas to the United States. He was saved by President Roosevelt’s Executive Order which precluded the return of refugees after the Crystal Night Pogrom in November 1938. He attended Junior High School and Stuyvesant High School in New York City and was drafted into the US Army in September 1943. As a member of T-Force, 12th Army Group, an intelligence unit, he participated in the Battle of the Bulge and the Rhineland campaigns in the European Theater of Operations. In April 1945 he met the Soviet soldiers at the Elbe at Magdeburg. Subsequently he was assigned to the Military Intelligence Center at Oberursel, Germany where he guarded war criminals and processed sensitive documents for shipment back to the States in preparation for the prosecution of war criminals. He was discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant in May 1946 but remained in the US Army Reserve. In 1949 he graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science degree and as a Distinguished Military ROTC Graduate from CCNY and returned to active duty as a 2nd Lieutenant, Military Police Corps. Subsequently he graduated with a master’s degree in Police Administration from Michigan State University. During his two years of Combat Branch duty in the infantry, he served in the 26th infantry regiment, 1st Infantry Division in Bamberg, Germany and in the 6th Infantry Regiment in Berlin. Thereafter, he was assigned Military police duties as Platoon Leader 1st MP Company, 1st Infantry Division, Company Commander, CO D, 728th MP Battalion, Korea; Provost Marshal, 7th Army Support Command, Germany: Battalion Commander, 793rd MP Battalion, Germany: Chief of Operations, Provost Marshal Office, Vietnam: and Commander, 42nd MP Group (Customs) and Custom Chief US Army Europe at Heidelberg, Germany. He had a two-year detail with the US Department of State, AID serving as Chief of Operations at the International Police Academy in Washington, DC. He was the last 0-6 Branch Chief of the Military Police Corps and wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Army complaining that the MP Branch was going down to only one General Officer: within a couple of years thereafter six MP Colonels were promoted to Brigadier General. His final assignments were within the Military District of Washington; he was the Assistant Chief of Staff for Police, Security and Intelligence and subsequently retired with the rank of Colonel from the position of Chief of Staff, MDW in November 1978. His decorations included the Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Commendation Medal, the European Theater Ribbon with 3 Battle Stars, the Vietnam Service Ribbon with 4 Battle Stars, the Vietnam Honor Medal, the German Grand Service Cross, the French Chevalier of Legion of Honor and the Russian World War II Memorial Medal. After retirement from the US Army, he became an Assistant Director Resident Life at the University of Maryland, where he managed the renovation of its dormitories and later served as Director Graduate Housing. He was honored by being inducted into the Military Police Hall of Fame in 2004, became Citizen of the Year, Mount Vernon District and Lord Fairfax in 2008 and was invited to come to Moscow, Russia to celebrate the anniversaries of the meeting of US Abd Soviet Forces at the Elbe in 2005, 2010 and 2015. Frank was married for over 72 wonderful years to his loving wife the late Paula Cohn, residing in The Fairfax Retirement Community at Fort Belvoir, VA. He is survived by one daughter Laura Cohn (Peter) Piscitelli of Ft Myers, FL. A Celebration of Life will be held Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at 11AM at Adas Israel Congregation, 2850 Quebec Street NW, Washington, DC 20008. A funeral luncheon will follow immediately after. A Graveside service with full military honors will be held at Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Drive, Arlington, VA, on a date to be announced. In lieu of followers, please consider memorial donations to The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum https://www.ushmm.org/frankcohn.

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COL. USA (RET.) Frank Cohn

August 2, 1925 - July 4, 2026