Four uniforms from M.B. Cooper.  Last pictured is jacket only. Some uniform attachments were removed as pictured. No major blemishes. Chicago origin. See description below and summary on listed photos 2. Thanks for looking.

THE NAVAL LEGACY OF COMMANDER M. B. COOPER: A HISTORICAL NARRATIVE AND COLLECTION CATALOG

The mid-twentieth century was a transformative era for the United States Navy, marked by the rigid strategic standoffs of the Cold War and the intense, localized combat operations of the Vietnam War. At the center of this pivotal period was Commander M. B. Cooper, a dedicated naval officer whose career spanned decades of service beneath the ocean waves and across distant shores. The material record of his lifetime of service was recently brought to light when a significant archive of his personal uniforms, medals, and military ephemera was discovered in Chicago, Illinois. Taken as a whole, this cohesive grouping offers an unbroken, intimate look at the evolution of a twentieth-century naval career, chronicling Cooper's steady rise through the ranks, his specialized qualifications, and his direct participation in the geopolitical conflicts of his time.

Commander Cooper's military timeline reflects a long, multi-generational family tradition of high-level service. A striking clue preserved within the collection is a formal tailor's tag dating to October 1956 made expressly for a Colonel Cooper Junior. Because the rank of Colonel does not exist within the branches of the naval service, this artifact strongly indicates that Commander Cooper was the son or close relative of a senior officer serving concurrently in the United States Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force. Immersed in this environment of military leadership, M. B. Cooper carved out his own distinct legacy within the elite and hazardous world of the United States Navy’s submarine force.

The physical artifacts trace Cooper’s officer career back to at least the mid-1950s, a period defined by heightened maritime vigilance against Soviet expansion. On December 1, 1955, Cooper was outfitted with a formal Evening Dress Blue Uniform by the prestigious military clothiers Jacob Reed’s Sons of Philadelphia. This highly specialized, double-breasted winter mess jacket was designed exclusively for white-tie and black-tie diplomatic functions, state dinners, and formal naval balls. Tailored with a rigid, standing choker collar adorned with directly embroidered gold fouled anchors, the jacket is closed by double rows of gold eagle-and-anchor buttons and features elegant, thin gold lace bands on the cuffs below the classic gold stars of a Line Officer. This pristine garment indicates that by late 1955, Cooper had secured a commission as a naval officer, entering a professional trajectory that would demand both administrative leadership and combat readiness.

As the United States became increasingly entangled in the defense of Southeast Asia during the 1960s, Cooper’s responsibilities and rank escalated. By September 1967, his career had led him to a senior leadership position aboard the USS Diodon (SS-349), a battle-tested Balao-class diesel-electric submarine. Originally commissioned at the tail end of World War II, the Diodon underwent extensive Greater Underwater Propulsive Power (GUPPY II) modernization to convert her into a sleek, streamlined vessel optimized for long-endurance Cold War surveillance and fleet exercises. During a Western Pacific deployment in the autumn of 1967, the Diodon made a port call in Hong Kong, a frequent stopover for American vessels rotating into and out of the Vietnam combat theater. On September 25, 1967, Cooper visited the renowned tailoring establishment of Lee Chong Tai at Number 51 Johnston Road in Hong Kong to commission a custom Service Dress Blue uniform. The handwritten internal order tag explicitly ties this garment to Cooper by name, date, and his vessel's hull designation, SS-349, providing irrefutable material proof of his station aboard the submarine during the height of the Vietnam conflict.

The 1967 custom Service Dress Blue uniform serves as a visual resume of Cooper’s achievements and operational command. The cuffs of the heavy black wool jacket bear three parallel, medium-width gold stripes beneath the Line Officer star, the unmistakable insignia of a United States Navy Commander. This O-5 rank represents a significant position of trust, indicating that Cooper held immense authority, likely serving as the submarine's Executive Officer or commanding vital shipboard departments. Most notably, the jacket proudly displays two separate sets of Submarine Warfare Insignia, universally known in naval lore as Dolphins. Mounted prominently above his medals is the gold Officer Submarine Warfare pin, featuring the silhouette of a submarine flanked by two stylized dolphins. Positioned lower on the jacket lapel is an identical set of dolphins, which traditionally represents the Enlisted Submarine Warfare qualification. The presence of both pins strongly suggests that Cooper was a Mustang officer, an elite designation for a sailor who originally entered the Navy as an enlisted man, earned his dolphins in the torpedo rooms or engineering spaces, and subsequently won a commission to ascend to the rank of Commander through sheer merit and technical expertise.

The chest of this 1967 jacket is adorned with a custom-mounted rack of miniature medals that meticulously itemizes Cooper’s combat geography and valor. The first decoration is the Navy Commendation Medal, awarded for sustained meritorious service and outstanding professional achievement under challenging conditions. Beside it hangs the National Defense Service Medal, a universal recognition for active military service during designated periods of national crisis, specifically the Korean and Vietnam eras. The third medal is the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, which denotes participation in sensitive, non-routine military operations in foreign territories, capturing the clandestine nature of Cold War submarine deployments. The final two decorations firmly anchor Cooper's presence in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam Service Medal is awarded to personnel who served directly in the combat theater or its contiguous waters, supporting land actions from the isolation of the sea. It is accompanied by the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, a foreign military decoration authorized by the South Vietnamese government and distinguished by its vibrant green and white ribbon and a bright silver bar attachment stamped with the operational era designation.

As Cooper's career progressed into the 1970s, the Navy modified its uniform standards to accommodate modern synthetic textiles. This transition is perfectly captured by the third uniform in the collection, a Service Dress Blue jacket issued by the official U.S. Naval Uniform Shop in Brooklyn, New York. Retaining the three gold stripes of a Commander, this later-career garment is specifically noted on its internal order tag as being constructed of a lightweight blue poly-knit fabric. Though similar in appearance to his 1967 wool jacket, this uniform features an updated ribbon bar that reveals significant developments in Cooper's combat record. Pinned to the center of his Navy Commendation ribbon is a small bronze letter V, the highly respected Combat Distinguishing Device. This single device transforms the nature of the award, proving that Cooper performed acts of specific heroism or valor involving direct participation in combat operations against an opposing enemy force. Furthermore, his Vietnam Service ribbon is updated with four distinct bronze campaign stars, testifying that he returned to the conflict zone repeatedly, executing missions across four separate, officially recognized combat campaigns. The ribbon rack also includes the Navy Unit Commendation, an award bestowed upon an entire ship's crew for collective gallantry and extraordinary heroism in action, illustrating that Cooper’s vessel operated with exceptional distinction.

Completing the formal array of Cooper’s operational attire is his ceremonial Officer’s Sword Belt. This striking accessory consists of a durable black leather backing faced with a woven gold and red fabric strap. It is secured by an ornate, rectangular cast-brass buckle featuring the classic American eagle clutching a fouled anchor, framed by a polished laurel wreath. Worn either over or beneath his various dress uniforms, this belt was utilized during highly formal ceremonial occasions, such as naval changes of command, official inspections, and military parades, where the carrying of an officer's sword was strictly mandated by naval protocol.

Even after active deployments concluded, the social fabric of Cooper's naval life remained intact, as demonstrated by the preserved ephemera associated with the collection. A surviving paper ticket from December 13, 1975, documents an invitation to the Snow Ball, a formal holiday gala sponsored by the Naval Officers' Wives Club of Mayport. Held at the Mayport Officers' Club at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, the ticket features the hand-inscribed name Cooper on its reverse side. This small piece of paper bridges the gap between Cooper’s operational years in the Pacific and his later shoreside assignments along the Atlantic coast, showcasing the vibrant military community that supported his family throughout his long career.

The discovery of this total archive in Chicago, Illinois, carries immense historical and collector value. In the field of military preservation, a collection of this nature is classified as an intact officer grouping. While individual, unnamed uniforms from the mid-twentieth century are relatively common, uniforms that are explicitly named, dated, and linked to a specific, highly secretive combat community like the submarine force are exceptionally rare. The Cooper collection provides an absolute, verified provenance that maps a singular human life across decades of global tension. It charts an individual's steady trajectory from the mid-1950s nuclear dawn to the high-stakes coastal operations of the Vietnam War, immortalizing a Commander who wore both enlisted and officer dolphins, commanded ships in the face of the enemy, and earned the nation's respect for valor beneath the sea. Preserved together, these artifacts transcend their status as simple garments, surviving as a tangible, three-dimensional archive of American military history.

ITEMIZED CATALOG OF THE COMMANDER M. B. COOPER UNIFORM COLLECTION

Uniform Number One

This item is a 1967 custom-tailored United States Navy Officer Service Dress Blue uniform jacket and matching trousers. It represents the rank of Commander, denoted by three parallel gold stripes below a line officer star on each cuff. The historical period is the height of the Vietnam War, precisely dated to September 25, 1967, by its internal label. This custom garment was made by Lee Chong Tai Tailors at Number 51 Johnston Road in Hong Kong during a Western Pacific port call or deployment. It features an explicit handwritten notation linking it directly to the Balao-class diesel-electric submarine USS Diodon, hull number SS-349. The jacket is adorned with two sets of submarine warfare insignia, a gold officer submarine warfare pin and a secondary enlisted submarine warfare pin, which strongly indicates that the recipient was a Mustang officer who rose through the ranks from enlisted service. The chest is outfitted with a custom-mounted rack of miniature medals including the Navy Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal featuring the silver sixty-era bar attachment.

Uniform Number Two

This item is a 1955 formal United States Navy Officer Evening Dress Blue jacket and matching formal trousers, which is a rare evening mess dress garment worn exclusively for white-tie and black-tie diplomatic functions. It represents the rank of a newly commissioned or promoted Line Officer, featuring a single discrete thin gold lace band on the sleeve cuffs accompanied by standard line officer stars. The historical period is the early Cold War era, precisely dated to December 1, 1955, by its internal clothing tags. This high-grade formal garment was customized by the legendary American uniform clothiers Jacob Reed's Sons of Philadelphia. The jacket is distinguished by its sharp double-breasted profile tapering at the waist, two parallel rows of gold eagle-and-anchor buttons, and a stiff standing choker collar that features gold fouled anchor devices embroidered directly into the fabric.

Uniform Number Three

This item is a 1970s-era United States Navy Officer Service Dress Blue jacket, which represents a later-career uniform issued by the official United States Naval Uniform Shop located in Brooklyn, New York. It represents the rank of Commander, retaining the traditional three medium gold stripes and line officer star on the cuffs. The historical period is the late Vietnam War or immediate post-Vietnam era of the mid-1970s. This garment is explicitly marked on its internal label as being constructed from a modern, lightweight blue poly-knit fabric, capturing the exact era when the military transitioned away from heavy wool textiles. It features an updated, full-sized ribbon rack that showcases an advanced combat record, most notably a bronze Combat Distinguishing V Device pinned to the Navy Commendation ribbon for specific acts of valor in theater. The rack also displays a Navy Unit Commendation ribbon and a Vietnam Service ribbon bearing four distinct bronze campaign stars, indicating that the officer returned to the combat zone for four separate operational campaigns.

Uniform Number Four

This item is a ceremonial United States Navy Officer Sword Belt and buckle. It does not display individual rank markings but is an essential dress accessory utilized by officers from the rank of Ensign up to Admiral for mandatory ceremonial functions. The historical period spans from the mid-1950s through the 1970s, serving as a functional accessory across all three accompanying uniforms. The item consists of a heavy black leather backing faced with a woven gold and red fabric strap. It is completed by an ornate, rectangular cast-brass locking buckle featuring an American eagle clutching a fouled anchor, framed by a polished laurel wreath, and was worn during official changes of command, parades, and formal inspections where carrying the naval officer's sword was required.