I wanted to be a dentist so I was able to enroll early in the accelerated pre-dental program at John Tarleton University in Stephenville. I then transferred to the pre-dental program at Baylor College of Dentistry in Waco and was awarded a Bachelors Degree in 1951. I finished schooling at Baylor College of Dentistry, Dallas where I was awarded a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 1953.
While I was in school, I was the youngest student in my suite. 80% of the dental students had served in the military in WW2 so they were much older then me. One had served as a B-24 pilot. Because of their experience they proved to be important mentors. My best friend Clyde, a Marine, had fought during the attacks on the Pacific Islands Bourganville, Tarawa, and Okinawa. His assignment was dangerous because he was the point person who would show the flame throwers where there were Japanese soldiers hiding in caves. I remember one very funny story. Clyde went outside in his skivvies to pick up his newspaper. A car was coming so he turned and ran back toward the house and jammed his toe on the step. His toe was black and blue so he wrapped it so he could still see patients. He would inject Novocain into his toe and then glide up and down the hall on a stool until he ran over a piece of gum on the floor that brought him to a jarring halt. He was very embarrassed because his patients had been watching and were laughing at his theatrics.
One other funny story. I was fishing with my friend and his wife. When she cast her lure the hook got caught in my friend’s nose. It was terribly painful but I couldn’t help laughing. He shared that in all of his time in WW2 attacking Islands I was never wounded. But now I’m out of the army and get wounded by a hook on my nose.
I was married in dental school and remember an amusing incident. Before we were married, we were very good friends and had been very active in the Baptist Student Union. We were walking home in the cold and her brother walked up and asked her if she had left her coat at home. Her brother, who had served in the Army in WW2, was with us. He was wearing a Pea Coat and told her to put her left hand in his coat pocket. I came up on the other side and told her to put her right hand in his coat pocket. So there we were walking together with both of her hands protected from the cold.
We were later married in August, 1951 in Waco. She supported me while I was finishing my schooling. I received my Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1953.
Another interesting story. My wife’s cousin had served on the USS Indianapolis. The ship had supported the attacks on Okinawa and had received serious damage. The ship was sent back to the US to be repaired and then was ordered to sail back to Tarawa Island in the Pacific. A large box had been secretly loaded on the ship which contained the Atomic Bomb. After the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the Indianapolis was sailing back to the US. The Captain considered the war was over so he was not taking any precautions as the ship was sailing. A Japanese submarine spotted the ship and fired several torpedoes that sank the ship. Her cousin was in the water for 7 days before he was rescued. His skin was peeling as a result of the exposure to the salt water. Approximately 880 sailors and Marines drowned and were killed making it the worst loss of life from a single ship in US Navy history.
It was 1953 and many of the reserve soldiers who had fought inWW2 were being called up for service in Korea. 600,000 North Korean soldiers had attacked south, capturing Seoul and pushing the Republic of Korean and US Army infantry back to the Pusan Perimeter in the southeast peninsula. I received a telegraph that my orders had been delayed. But I was soon ordered to report to the Naval Air Station Ship docks in Alameda. I was assigned as the Dentist on the Naval Escort Carrier, USS Cape Esperance, CVU 88. During WW2, the Esperance transported new combat ready aircraft as well as personnel to strategic locations in the Pacific including the Philippines, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. During the Korean War, the USS Cape Esperance continued to ferry aircraft and personnel from the US to bases in Japan.
The USS Cape Esperance was being taken to Korea so I was able to visit my wife for 3 to 5 days. When I returned to the Naval Air Station, the ship had already sailed. I flew out of Barber’s Point on the southwest point of Oahu where the Naval Station was located. An Albatross sea bird flew into the plane and caused considerable damage to our plane so we had to make an emergency landing on Midway Island. We had to wait because one of the props had to be repaired. We then flew to Japan and landed at the Naval Base at Soogie Bay in Oura Bay. Unfortunately the USS Cape Esparence had already sailed so we traveled to the Marine Corps Air Station at Iwakuni. Again the ship had already sailed so we traveled to Kure, located just south of Hiroshima, Kure was one of the largest ship building facilities and Naval Bases in Japan. The massive battleship Yamato had been built and launched from Kure. Fortunately, we were able to board the USS Cape Esperance.
The slips were located along the sides of the mountains where you could still see iron defensive doors along the ridges. Kure had been bombarded regularly by the US Airforce. We joined a bus load of sailors who were visiting the Japanese interior. We were 30 miles from Tokyo so we were able to visit the Imperial Palace. One very interesting building was the Imperial Hotel which had been designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1923. The hotel was designed to withstand an earthquake which was proven when the hotel survived the disastrous Great Kanto earthquake in 1923. We visited the Skischi Room in the hotel where Japanese women cooked meals. I remember how difficult it was for us to stand up after sitting for so long. Before sailing back to the US we picked up some New Zealand entertainers at their base in Kure who were going to Korea to do shows for the troops.
We sailed back to the Naval Station at Coronado, San Diego. We thought we were going to be able to get some leave so I could see my wife. We had to be inspected by a Marine Rear Admiral attache, Navy protocol required he should wear a sword around his waist. At one point the sword was dropped. Even though we were at Parade Rest, we couldn’t control ourselves and started laughing.
We then learned our orders had been changed and we were ordered to sail to Mobile, Alabama to pick up a load of planes to bring to Japan. We were very unhappy with the change in orders. We had to sail through the Panama Canal but our ship was too wide to sail through it. So we had to wait. The crew was very unhappy so the Captain said to get in the water. He wanted us to hunt turtles for food so we caught two large ones. The Captain wanted me and the physician to certify that the turtles were safe to eat. But I wasn’t sure I knew how to certify that. We eventually verified it so I spoke with the cook and soon the turtles were certified for safe eating so we feasted on turtle soup.
We picked up 50 to 80 planes in Mobile and sailed back through the canal and headed to Japan. I was very busy on the ship filling cavities, and pulling molars because the returning soldiers had a lot of dental problems. I also assisted in an appendix operation. My only non dental surgical procedure. The physician was from California and trained at the University of Michigan and suffered terribly from sea sickness. We were constantly having to tie down our instruments because of the rocking of the ship especially when we sailed to within 300 miles of a typhoon. The sickbay was located on the 2nd level midship below the Quarter deck.
On the way we stopped at Pearl Harbor. It was 1955, just 15 years after the devastating Japanese attack. We could still observe the upper structure of the USS Arizona which had settled to the bottom of the harbor. Its burned and damaged supper structures and gun turrets could still be seen above the water line. We tied up next to the USS Utah which had capsized and was lying on its side. Some of us disembarked and joined a tour of the submarine base. One of my friends knew a dentist who practiced in Honolulu.
We sailed back to Alameda where the ship was put into dry dock for repairs. My wife Dee had gone back to Texas with our son. She returned to Alameda and I settled her in an upstairs apartment over a dentist office. After I sailed out she moved to a downstairs apartment. We were in Alameda for 17 days while the ship was being repaired. I then received orders to sail back to Mobile transporting 500 ship crews, tanks, trucks, and Army vehicles. The Korean War had ended so personnel and equipment needed to be transported. I remember an unfortunate incident that occurred along the way. A new Ensign ROTC graduate, had been assigned to the ship. Since he needed to be assigned to a responsibility he was out in charge of refueling. He was bringing out the hoses but ordered them be removed too soon. This resulted in a dangerous oil slick. Which would have been a disaster if they had caught on fire.
As my time in the Navy was drawing to an end I learned that the Esperance was ordered to sail to the Naval Air Dental School of Dentistry in Corpus Christi. Looking back on my military career on the Esperance I believed very strongly that God had preserved my life so I could have a family once I left the Navy. Thankfully, I made contact with a friend in Victoria who told me that he had a friend in Waxahachie who was moving to California and wanted to sell his practice. I believed God had ordained that I was to take over the dentist practice in Ellis County. So in 1955 I moved my family to Waxahachie. So I had 4 children, 13 grandchildren, and my 26th great grandchild in 2025.
I have been a member of the Waxahachie Lions Club for 70 years.
Endnote
Why USS Cape Esperance (CVE‑88) Fits Your Clues
The ship:
- Operated across the Pacific islands
- Served actively during the Korean War era (1950–1954)
- Ferried aircraft, personnel, and supplies to Japan, Guam, Philippines, Ulithi, Iwo Jima, Okinawa
What CVE‑88 did during the Korean War:
- Returned to service August 1950
- Supported Korean War operations by transporting aircraft and personnel to Japan
- Continued WestPac deployments through 1954–1955
This type of ship where a Navy Dental Technician would serve — providing dental care to the crew and supporting fleet readiness.
What the USS Cape Esperance Looked Like
(Casablanca‑class Escort Carrier)
Overall Appearance:
- A small aircraft carrier, much shorter and narrower than the big fleet carriers.
- Long, flat flight deck stretching the length of the ship.
- A compact island superstructure on the starboard (right) side.
- Straight, simple lines — these ships were built fast and functional.
- Painted in standard Navy haze gray.
Size:
- Length: 512 feet
- Beam (width): 65 feet (108 feet across the flight deck)
- Draft: ~20 feet
This made her about half the size of a fleet carrier like USS Essex.
Flight Deck:
- Carried about 27 aircraft (fighters and torpedo bombers).
- It had one catapult and two elevators to move planes between the hangar deck and flight deck.
- Aircraft were parked wing‑to‑wing along the deck edges.
Armament:
- 1 × 5‑inch dual‑purpose gun
- 8 × 40mm Bofors anti‑aircraft guns
- 30 × 20mm Oerlikon anti‑aircraft cannons
These were for defense only — escort carriers were not front‑line combat ships.
Crew:
- About 860–916 officers and enlisted men
A Dental Technician as Robert Miltan would have been part of the ship’s medical department.
Atmosphere on Board:
- Busy but not chaotic — these ships were workhorses.
- Constant aircraft movement, maintenance, and supply operations.
- Tight living quarters; escort carriers were known for being crowded and noisy.
- Medical and dental departments were small but essential.
Role:
- A transport and replenishment carrier — she ferried aircraft, personnel, and supplies across the Pacific.
- During the Korean War era, she delivered aircraft to Japan, supported atomic tests at Eniwetok, and made repeated Pacific island runs.
Where She Operated
- Hawaii
- Guam
- Ulithi
- Philippines
- Japan (Yokosuka)
- Marshall Islands
- Marianas
15 years After Pearl Harbor 1956
The First Impression: A Harbor Rebuilt but Never Forgetting
By 1956, Pearl Harbor was fully restored, expanded, and bustling with activity. Ships entering the channel saw:
- Massive dry docks and shipyards humming with work
- Rows of destroyers, cruisers, and carriers tied up at Ford Island
- New concrete piers and modern naval facilities
- American flags everywhere, crisp against the Pacific sky
But even with all the modernization, the harbor still carried the weight of history.
The Arizona Memorial Was Not Yet Built — But the Wreck Was Visible
The USS Arizona Memorial wouldn’t be completed until 1962. In 1956, soldiers and sailors sailing in saw:
- The rusted remains of the Arizona’s hull still visible above the waterline
- A simple white wooden platform marking the site
- Oil — the “black tears” — still rising to the surface in small, shimmering streaks
For many veterans like Robert , this was the most emotional moment of arrival.
The Approach Through the Channel
As their ship moved through the narrow entrance, they saw:
- Diamond Head rising in the distance
- Green mountains behind the harbor
- Blue water turning darker as the ship entered the deeper channel
- Tugs guiding them in, horns echoing across the water
- Rows of American flags snapping in the wind
The harbor was alive — not a battlefield anymore, but a symbol of American strength.
The First Sight: A Harbor Transformed but Still Haunted
By 1955, Pearl Harbor was no longer the shattered landscape of the war years. Soldiers saw:
- A fully rebuilt, expanded naval base
- New concrete piers and modernized docks
- Destroyers, cruisers, and carriers lined up at Ford Island
- Shipyards alive with welders, cranes, and repair crews
- A Cold War–ready fleet, not a recovering one
It looked strong, busy, and unmistakably American. But beneath all that activity, the memory of December 7 still lived in the water.
The USS Arizona — Still Visible, Still Weeping Oil
The Arizona Memorial did not yet exist.
In 1955, soldiers sailing in saw:
- The rusted remains of the Arizona’s hull still breaking the surface
- A simple white wooden platform marking the site
- Thin streaks of oil — the “black tears” — rising quietly to the surface
Men often fell silent as their ship passed. Some removed their caps. Some whispered the names of friends. It was impossible not to feel the weight of it.
The Feeling Among the Soldiers
For veterans especially, the arrival carried a deep emotional charge.
1. Pride
They were sailing into a place that had become a symbol of American resilience.
2. Reflection
Many remembered where they were on December 7, 1941. Some had lost friends here. Some had fought in the Pacific afterward.
3. Awe
Seeing the rebuilt base — stronger than ever — made an impression.
4. Quiet Respect
Even without the memorial, everyone knew where the U.S.S. Arizona lay. Men often removed their caps as they passed.
Life on the Base in 1956
Once ashore, soldiers saw a Pearl Harbor that was:
- Busy with Cold War activity
- Filled with new barracks, offices, and training centers
- Home to thousands of service members and families
- Surrounded by a growing Honolulu and Waikiki
It was no longer a remote outpost — it was a major hub of Pacific defense.
In One Sentence
Sailing in the U.S.S. Cape Esperance into Pearl Harbor fifteen years after the attack meant entering a place transformed — modern, powerful, and alive — yet still marked by the visible scars and solemn memory of December 7, 1941.
Legacy
Dr. Robert Cox leaves behind a legacy defined by service — service to his country, service to his faith, and service to the people whose lives he touched every day. His journey began in the United States Navy, where he served with discipline, humility, and a commitment to caring for others. The values he learned in uniform — responsibility, compassion, and integrity — Where he served as a Dental Technician, providing essential care to sailors and Marines who depended on him to stay healthy, ready, and mission‑capable. His work was quiet, precise, and indispensable—an early expression of the calling that would shape the rest of his life.
The discipline, compassion, and sense of responsibility he developed in the Navy became the foundation of his life’s work. After his service, Robert pursued dentistry with the same steady purpose he had shown in uniform. As a DDS, he healed with skill, patience, and a deep respect for every person who sat in his chair. His patients trusted him not only because of his expertise, but because of the kindness in his voice, the gentleness of his hands, and the sincerity of his care.
Robert carried the heart of a healer and the spirit of a servant. After the Navy, he dedicated himself to mission work, traveling to places where help was needed most. Whether providing medical care, offering comfort, or simply showing up with kindness, he lived out his belief that every person deserves dignity and hope. His mission trips were not acts of obligation; they were expressions of who he was — a man who saw need and stepped forward.
In Robert’s faith was the guiding force behind everything he did. It shaped his character, his decisions, and the way he treated others. His faith was not loud or performative—it was lived. It was visible in his humility, his generosity, and his unwavering belief that service to others was the highest expression of gratitude for the blessings he had been given.
In his community, Dr. Cox became a steady, trusted presence.
He served not for recognition, but because he believed in lifting others up. His work touched families, neighbors, churches, and countless individuals who found in him a source of wisdom, compassion, and unwavering support. He gave his time freely, shared his knowledge generously, and lived with a quiet strength that inspired those around him.
That faith carried him far beyond the walls of his practice. Robert participated in mission trips, offering dental care and compassionate support to communities with limited access to medical services. Whether he was working in a small clinic, a makeshift mission station, or a remote village, he brought the same level of dignity and respect to every person he served. His mission work became one of the clearest reflections of his heart—a healer who saw every life as worthy of care.
At the center of Robert’s world was his beloved wife, Dovia “Dee”, the partner who walked beside him through every chapter of life. Their marriage was a testament to devotion, steadiness, and shared purpose. Dee’s strength, grace, and unwavering support were woven into every accomplishment and every season of their life together. She was his anchor, his confidante, and the heart of the home they built
Together, Robert and Dee raised their children, instilling in them the same values that guided their own lives—integrity, compassion, responsibility, and faith. Their children grew up knowing a father who led by example, who listened with patience, and who showed them what it meant to live a life of purpose.
As the family grew, Robert embraced the role of grandfather with joy and tenderness. His grandchildren knew him as a gentle presence—wise, encouraging, and always ready with a story, a smile, or a moment of quiet guidance. He celebrated their milestones, supported their dreams, and passed down the values that had shaped him since his youth.
In time, Robert was blessed to become a great‑grandfather, a role that filled him with profound gratitude. To see his legacy carried forward into another generation was one of the greatest joys of his life. His great‑grandchildren will grow up hearing stories of the man whose love, faith, and character helped build the foundation they now stand on.
Dr. Robert Cox’s legacy is rich and enduring. He served his nation with honor, healed with compassion, lived his faith with humility, and built a family whose love reflects the very best of who he was. His life stands as a testament to service, devotion, and the quiet strength of a man who gave the world more than he ever asked for from it.