Robert L. Coffey

Robert L. Coffey

Robert Lewis Coffey Jr. (born October 21, 1918 in Chattanooga , Tennessee , †  April 20, 1949 in Albuquerque , New Mexico ) was an American officer and politician . In 1949 he represented the state of Pennsylvania in the US House of Representatives .

Career

In his early childhood, Robert Coffey moved with his parents to Pennsylvania, where he graduated from Ferndale High School in 1935 . He then studied at the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State College . He then worked in various positions in coal mining for some time. Since 1939 he served as a flight cadet. In November 1941 he was promoted to first lieutenant. During the Second World War he was a member of the United States Army squadron . For his military achievements he was awarded several medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross , the Air Medal , the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the Croix de guerre .

Between 1945 and 1948, Coffey was a lieutenant colonel military attaché at the American embassy in Santiago . He was then colonel in the United States Air Force reserves . Politically, he joined the Democratic Party . In the 1948 congressional election he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the 26th  constituency of Pennsylvania , where he succeeded Republican Harve Tibbott on January 3, 1949 . He was only able to exercise this mandate for a few months until his death on April 20, 1949. He died in a plane crash during a military training flight in Albuquerque and found his final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia .

Web links

• Robert L. Coffey in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Robert L. Coffey in the database of Find a Grave (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Harve Tibbott	United States House Representative for Pennsylvania (26th constituency) January 3, 1949 - April 20, 1949	John P. Saylor