CDR George Thomas Coker
Eagle Scout 1959
Distinguished Eagle Scout 2005
Commander George T. Coker, naval aviation officer, Vietnam prisoner of war, and member of the Eagle Scout Class of 1959, was honored with the National Eagle Scout Association’s highest honor, the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, in 2005.
Coker received his wings as a U.S. Navy A6 Intruder Bombardier/Navigator on August 15, 1964. Shot down in Vietnam on August 27, 1966, he spent several years as “a guest of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese.” He was one of the war’s earlier POWs and spent 2½ years of his 6½ years as a POW in solitary confinement. He is one of only two people who escaped the Hoa Lo (“Hanoi Hilton”) prison in Hanoi. He was recaptured a day later and severely beaten for several hours before beginning his solitary confinement.
As a prisoner of war, Coker refused to denounce America. He was forced to stand against a wall, arms over his head, for 13-hour stretches daily. Coker tried everything to survive those long hours: praying, counting to himself, and thinking about his family. But he could barely remember his name by the end of two months.
But he remembered the Scout Oath. “The last thing I could consciously hold onto was the Scout Oath,” he said. “By the end, I could only get out the first verse: ‘On my honor, I will do my best.’ That forced my brain to function and say, ‘I will do this again. I will not do what they want me to do.’”
Coker received the Navy Cross – the U.S. Navy’s highest honor – for his leadership as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. He also received the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with Combat V, the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Bronze Stars with Combat V, two Purple Hearts, the Meritorious Service Award, five Air Medals, several commendations, the POW Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Vietnam Service Medal.
George and his wife, Pam, raised their children in Virginia Beach, where the Coker family has lived since 1980. After retiring from the Navy as a Commander in 1986, Coker worked as a mortgage banker and computer analyst before fully retiring from career work in July 2002. He is now a full-time volunteer.
He served as a Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, and Lodge Advisor. For his Scouting service to youth, Tidewater Council, BSA, recognized him with the Silver Beaver Award in 2012 and named him a Living Legend in 2019. The Order of the Arrow’s Blue Heron Lodge bestowed upon him its highest level, the Vigil Honor.
Coker was the keynote speaker at the Tidewater Council Recognition Banquet on Thursday, May 11, 2023. The event honored the 2022 Class of Eagle Scouts, Silver Beaver Award recipients, Adams Award Eagle Scout service projects, NESA Outstanding Eagle Scouts, Medals of Merit, Living Legends of Tidewater Council, Second Century Society members, James E. West fellows, and more.
To honor Coker at that event, Tidewater Council created a custom-made Council Shoulder Patch (CSP), which included the A6 Intruder he flew, along with an eagle in flight, and the Tidewater Council shipwheel logo. The CSP, which can be worn on the official BSA uniform, was awarded to members of the Tidewater BSA Eagle Scout Class of 2022.
