Edward B. Cole

Edward Ball Cole
Edward Ball Cole
	Edward B. Cole
Nickname(s)	"Ned"
Born	September 23, 1879; Boston, Massachusetts
Died	June 18, 1918 (aged 38); near Coulommiers, France
Buried	Aisne-Marne Cemetery, Belleau, France
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Rank	Major
Commands held	6th Machine Gun Battalion, 4th Brigade of Marines
Battles/wars	World War I Battle of Belleau Wood (DOW);
Awards	Navy Cross ; Distinguished Service Cross ; Légion d'honneur ; Croix de Guerre
Relations	Brother — Gen Charles H. Cole ; Father — Charles H. Cole, Sr.

Last updated February 12, 2024

Edward Ball Cole (September 23, 1879 - June 18, 1918) was an officer in the United States Marine Corps during World War I. He was a leading expert on machine guns; he was killed in action during the Battle of Belleau Wood.

Biography

Cole was born in on September 23, 1879, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Charles and Mary Lyon (Ball) Cole. He graduated from Harvard University in 1902, where he was a member of the Owl Club.^[1]^[2]

Cole was one of the United States' leading experts on machine guns and had published several articles and a book on the subject — Field Book for Machine Gunners (1917).^[3] He received a direct commission in the Marine Corps in World War I.

Cole received the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism during the Battle of Belleau Wood in which he was mortally wounded on June 10, 1918. On that day, while he was leading an attack on enemy machine guns a German hand grenade wounded him in the foot. When a second grenade landed in front of him, he grabbed it to throw it back and protect his men — it exploded in his hand.^[4] He crawled back to his men under rifle fire. He died from his wounds on June 18, 1918, in a field hospital near Coulommiers, France, with his brother, U.S. Army Brigadier General Charles H. Cole at his side.^[4] He is buried in the Aisne-Marne Cemetery, Belleau, France.

His decorations included the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Service Cross; as well as the French Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre.

Citations

For his actions on June 10, 1918, during the Battle of Belleau Wood, Cole received both the Navy Cross and the Army Distinguished Service Cross.

Cole's Navy Cross citation reads:

In the Bois de Belleau, France, on June 10, 1918, his unusual heroism in leading his company under heavy fire enabled it to fight with exceptional effectiveness. He personally worked fearlessly until he was mortally wounded.

His Distinguished Service Cross citation reads:

In the Bois de Belleau, on June 10th 1918, displayed extraordinary heroism in organizing positions, rallying his men and disposing of his guns, continuing to expose himself fearlessly until he fell. He suffered the loss of his right hand and received wounds in upper arm and both thighs.”

Namesake

The destroyer USS Cole (DD-155) was named for him. (The guided missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67) was named for a different Cole: Darrell S. Cole.)

Notes

↑ Malcolm, The Hingham Journal, 2001.
↑ Howe, Mark Anthony De Wolfe (1922). Memoirs of the Harvard Dead in the War Against Germany, Vol 3. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
↑ Cole, Captain Edward B., USMC (1917). Field Book for Machine Gunners. Kansas City: Hudson. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
1 2 Nilo, James R. (July 1993). "World War I 75 Years Ago: Attack on Soissons" (reprinted by Leatherneck as "Today In USMC History: July 18, 1918"). Leatherneck Magazine. Retrieved 2008-10-26. Marine Major Edward B. Cole, commanding the 6th Machine Gun Bn, while leading an attack on some enemy machine guns on June 10 in those woods, was severely wounded. A German grenade wounded him in the foot, and a second one landed in front of him. While trying to throw it back, it exploded and riddled him with shrapnel. Gen Cole was at his bedside when he died on June 18.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

Related Research Articles

The Battle of Belleau Wood was a major battle that occurred during the German spring offensive in World War I, near the Marne River in France. The battle was fought by the U.S. 2nd and 3rd Divisions along with French and British forces against an assortment of German units including elements from the 237th, 10th, 197th, 87th, and 28th Divisions. The battle has become a key component of United States Marine Corps lore.

Louis Cukela was a Croatian American United States Marine numbered among the nineteen two-time recipients of the Medal of Honor. Cukela was awarded the Medal by both the US Army and the US Navy for the same action during the Battle of Soissons in World War I. He was also awarded decorations from France, Italy, and Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Lemuel Cornick Shepherd Jr. was a General in the United States Marine Corps, 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Navy Cross recipient, veteran of World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Daly</span> United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient (1873–1937)

Daniel Joseph Daly was a United States Marine and one of nineteen U.S. servicemen to have been awarded the Medal of Honor twice. Daly and Major General Smedley Butler are the only Marines who earned two Medals of Honor for two separate acts of valor.

John Francis Burnes was an officer in the United States Marine Corps during World War I and the first Marine Mustang.

Edward Canfield Fuller was an officer in the United States Marine Corps and the son of General Ben Hebard Fuller.

John Henry Balch was a United States Naval Reserve officer. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions in World War I.

Randolph Talcott Zane was an officer in the United States Marine Corps during World War I. He was awarded the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions while holding the town of Bouresches, France against an enemy force of superior numbers on the night of June 7–8, 1918. The United States Navy's USS Zane is named in his honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen Melancthon Sumner</span>

Allen Melancthon Sumner Jr. was an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John H. Quick</span>

John Henry Quick was a United States Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 1898 during the Spanish–American War and the Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Hanson</span>

Raymond Willis "Rock" Hanson was an American military officer and college sports coach and administrator. He was a United States Marine Corps colonel and highly decorated veteran of World War I and World War II. Hanson served as the head football coach at Western Illinois State Teachers College—now known as Western Illinois University—in Macomb, Illinois, from 1926 to 1941.

Clifton Bledsoe Cates served as the 19th Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1948 to 1951, holding the rank of a United States Marine Corps four-star general. He earned recognition for his heroism during World War I at the Battle of Belleau Wood and for his exceptional leadership during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. Cates is widely regarded as one of the most distinguished young officers of World War I. His remarkable career included commanding a platoon, a company, a battalion, a regiment, and a division, making him one of the few officers across all branches of service to have achieved this feat in combat.

Major General Logan Feland was a United States Marine Corps general who last served as commanding general of the Department of the Pacific. Feland served during the Spanish–American War, the occupation of Veracruz (1914) and in World War I, where he was in command of all troops during the Battle of Belleau Wood.

William Alfred Eddy, Ph.D., Col., USMC was a U.S. minister to Saudi Arabia (1944–1946); university professor and college president (1936–1942); U.S. Marine Corps officer, serving in World War I and World War II; and U.S. intelligence officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Thompson Boone</span> US Navy admiral and Medal of Honor recipient (1889–1974)

Joel Thompson Boone was a United States Navy officer who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War I.

Aloysius Leitner served in the United States Marine Corps during World War I. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and Distinguished Service Cross.

Victor France Bleasdale was a brigadier general in the United States Marine Corps. He was awarded the Navy Cross and Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge in World War I. Later he received a second Navy Cross for his service at the Battle of San Fernando during the Second Nicaraguan Campaign.

Darel McKinney served in the United States Marine Corps during World War I. He would be awarded the Navy Cross and Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during the Battle of Belleau Wood.

John Groff was a brigadier general in the United States Marine Corps whose military career spanned from 1912 to 1946. Groff was a highly decorated veteran of World War I, earning the Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and Purple Heart medals. He also participated in the Banana Wars, and World War II. At the time of his death in 1990 at age 100, BG Groff was the oldest surviving general officer in the Marine Corps.

Harold Cyrus Roberts was a highly decorated officer in the United States Marine Corps with the rank of colonel. He was the recipient of three Navy Crosses, the United States military's second-highest decoration awarded for valor in combat.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .

"Cole". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History & Heritage Command, Department of the Navy. Archived from the original on 2008-03-22. Retrieved 2008-10-26.

"Namesake — Major Edward Ball Cole". Destroyer History Foundation. 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-26.

"6th Machine Gun Battalion, USMC, Individual Members: Major Edward Ball Cole". History and Lore of the 6th Machine Gun Battalion. Retrieved 5 Feb 2016.

Malcolm, Dorothy V. (November 8, 2001). "Recalling World War I through the letters of Maj. Edward Ball Cole". The Hingham Journal . Hingham, Massachusetts. Retrieved 2008-10-26.

Malcolm-Bunyard, Dorothy (June 2003). "The Cole Papers: World War I revisited". The Hingham Journal. Hingham, Massachusetts: Community Newspaper Co. p. 8. Retrieved 2008-10-26.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Malcolm2001-1] Malcolm, The Hingham Journal, 2001.

[Memoirs-2] Howe, Mark Anthony De Wolfe (1922). Memoirs of the Harvard Dead in the War Against Germany, Vol 3. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

[FieldBook-3] Cole, Captain Edward B., USMC (1917). Field Book for Machine Gunners. Kansas City: Hudson. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[Leatherneck_Nilo_July,_1993-4] 1 2 Nilo, James R. (July 1993). "World War I 75 Years Ago: Attack on Soissons" (reprinted by Leatherneck as "Today In USMC History: July 18, 1918"). Leatherneck Magazine. Retrieved 2008-10-26. Marine Major Edward B. Cole, commanding the 6th Machine Gun Bn, while leading an attack on some enemy machine guns on June 10 in those woods, was severely wounded. A German grenade wounded him in the foot, and a second one landed in front of him. While trying to throw it back, it exploded and riddled him with shrapnel. Gen Cole was at his bedside when he died on June 18.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]