75 years ago, Darrell Cole earned his Medal of Honor with nothing more than grenades, a pistol, and 'unfaltering courage'
Jared Keller
February 15, 2020 at 09:40 AM
On February 19th, 1945, the namesake of the future USS Cole earned the Medal of Honor — and a place in history — at the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Marine Corps Sgt. Darrell Samuel Cole — then the leader of a machine gun section attached to Company B, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marines, 4th Marine Division — found himself leading his men into almost certain death on the opening day of the Battle of Iwo Jima, where they were "assailed by a tremendous volume of small-arms, mortar and artillery fire," according to his Medal of Honor citation.
Cole had enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1941. Assigned to the role of bugler, for years he lobbied his commanders for permission to perform line duties. According to the Marine Corps, Cole would first ditch his bugle for a machine gun during the beginning of the Battle of Guadalcanal in August 1942, and again during battles at Kwajalein, Saipan and Tinian, earning a Bronze Star and a reputation as "The Fighting Field Musician" throughout the Pacific campaign.
https://taskandpurpose.com/darrell-cole-medal-honor-anniversary
