Will Cox ’15 stood at the intersection of where Wofford College’s future will honor its past and soaked up the atmosphere.
Cox, executive vice president of Cox Bros. Services in Spartanburg, recently made a gift to support the college’s Military Memorial project. He visited campus to see where the memorial will stand between Main Building and the DuPré Administration Building.
“I look forward to the day where future students, professors, alumni and community members can walk past this incredible memorial and reflect on the sacrifices made by former Terriers and their families,” Cox says.
The memorial will be a public space on campus that will bear the names, class years, service branches and ranks of those who died while on active duty beginning with World War I and Wofford’s establishment of a U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps unit.
Cox participated in ROTC while he was at Wofford. He was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant and served as a U.S. Army aviation officer. He later became a Blackhawk helicopter pilot in command and an instructor pilot.
“I’ve had the distinct honor for nearly a decade to serve alongside some of the nation's finest men and women around the world,” Cox says.
Dr. Boyce Lawton, Wofford’s dean for student services, asked Cox to join the college’s military alumni Facebook page. That’s where Cox learned about the fundraising campaign for the military memorial.
“I wanted to donate and be a part of something bigger than myself,” Cox says. “I wanted to pay tribute to those who came before me and our fellow Terriers so that we may enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy each and every day. I find it incredibly humbling that we’ve had 101 alumni who have paid the ultimate sacrifice while on active duty across six different conflicts throughout our nation's history.”