Remembering Peter Coe, retired Chief of Police
Peter A. Coe, retired Chief of Police and United States Army (retired) of Grand Forks, died Sept. 12, 2014, at Valley Eldercare Center, Grand Forks. He was 83. 
Peter Ashbrook Coe was born Nov. 4, 1930, to Letcher Coe and Jean (Kelley) Marsh in Bronxville, N.Y. After graduating from high school, he joined the U.S. Army in 1948. In 1950, he saw action in Korea. Battles such as Hill 195 earned his Company the Distinguished Unit Citation, the Korean Presidential Citation and the Korean Campaign Ribbon with five battle stars. For valor in combat, Sergeant Coe was awarded the Bronze Star by Presidential Order and a Purple Heart.
From 1952 to 1956 he was stationed in Ulm, Germany where he met and married the love of his life Pauline (Kopp) Coe, on Sept. 10, 1955. This past Wednesday they celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary. Despite his illness, Peter mustered up the strength to have flowers delivered and enjoyed the day with Pauline, his son and daughter by his side. In 1956, he returned stateside as an Instructor of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY. Serving there with distinction, he continued a West Point family tradition started by his uncle, Major General Frank W. Coe (Class 1892) and his nephew, Lt. William C. Coe (Class 1920).
In December of 1965, he was assigned to the Army National Guard Unit in Grand Forks as an Army Advisor, transferring in from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, just in time to experience the blizzard of 1966. In 1967, he again went to war in Vietnam. For his actions, he was awarded numerous unit citations, a Bronze Star by direction of the President and an Army Commendation Metal by direction of the Secretary of the Army. After 20 years of dedicated service, he was honorably discharged on Oct. 1, 1968, having achieved the rank of First Sergeant (E-8).
After retirement from active military service, he began another career at the University of North Dakota. As Director of Campus Security and Safety, he oversaw the transformation of a small campus security office into a fully state accredited police department. After 17 years of service, he retired from UND as Chief of Police in 1985. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and greatly valued his affiliation with a university social organization known as the Wranglers.
He is survived by his wife, Pauline, Grand Forks; his children, Viktoria J. Coe, Grand Forks, and Frank W. Coe, Cliffside Park, NJ; grandchildren, Sara R. Bonilla, Emily E. Coe and Jeffrey P. Coe; great grandchildren, Tayshawn Pendleton, Braxton Bonilla and T J Charles; sisters, Jill Bellucci and Holly Malone, Pawling, NY and Bonnie King, Stormville, NY. He was preceded in death by his parents.