Cyrus Willard Cole (21 June 1876 – 29 July 1952) was a highly decorated

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer with the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

. While commandant of

Portsmouth Navy Yard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continu ...

, Cole served as the officer in charge of the rescue and salvage operations of the sunken submarine ''

Squalus ''Squalus'' is a genus of dogfish sharks in the family Squalidae. Commonly known as spurdogs, these sharks are characterized by smooth dorsal fin spines, teeth in upper and lower jaws similar in size, caudal peduncle with lateral keels; upper ...

'', which accidentally sank off the Isle of Shoals while diving in testing trials on May 23, 1939.

Early years

NH 52738 Officers at Iloilo, Philippine Islands, January 1900

Cole was born in

Marshall, Michigan Marshall is a U.S. city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Calhoun County. The population was 7,088 at the 2010 census. Marshall is best known for its cross-section of 19th- and early 20th-century architecture. It has been referred to by ...

. He gained admittance to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

and graduated in 1899. After two years of service aboard the

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers r ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

'' and the

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

'', Cole was transferred to the battleship ''Kearsarge''. Between 1905 and 1906 Cole served with a recruiting party, and then was transferred to the battleship ''

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

'' in April 1907. Later, in November 1909, Cole returned to Annapolis, where he taught navigation. After about two years at Annapolis, Cole transferred to the

United States Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februa ...

, where he commanded its Torpedo Flotilla from October 1911 until August 1914. Later he served at the United States Naval Training Station at Great Lakes, Illinois, and then served as the

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, ...

of the battleship ''

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

.'' During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Cole captained two United States Naval transports, the store ship ''

Pastores Pastores is a town, with a population of 12,621 (2018 census), and a municipality, with a population of 17,814 (2018 census),President Grant.'' In recognition of his service, Cole was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

along with a letter of commendation.

Postwar career

After the end of World War I, Cole served as an aide to the commander of the Newport News Division of the United States Naval Cruiser and Transport Force, after which he was ordered to become the recruiting inspector for the Western Division in November 1919. Cole then commanded the receiving ship the former

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

'' between the years 1921 and 1923, and both of the hospital ships ''

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...

'' and ''

Relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

.'' After giving up command of the ''Relief'', Cole transferred to the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

to receive instruction in June 1923. In San Francisco, on June 7, 1924, Cole became assistant commandant of the Twelfth Naval District and was in that duty until January 1926, when he was ordered to captain the

scout cruiser A scout cruiser was a type of warship of the early 20th century, which were smaller, faster, more lightly armed and armoured than protected cruisers or light cruisers, but larger than contemporary destroyers. Intended for fleet scouting duties ...

'' Omaha.'' In September 1927, Cole was ordered to take command of the Naval Training Station at San Diego, at which he served until June 1930, when he gained the captaincy of the battleship ''

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

.'' After this command Cole then served as director of fleet training for the Navy Department from February 1932 until May 1934, when he took command of the U.S. Fleet's Submarine Force. Cole was assigned on June 15, 1936, as the commandant of the

. While commandant, Cole served as the officer in charge of the rescue and salvage operations of the sunken submarine ''

'', which accidentally sank off the Isle of Shoals while diving in testing trials on May 23, 1939. Cole was awarded the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

for his successful oversight of this crucial operation. The following year after the recovery of the ''Squalus'', Cole was transferred the Retired List on July 1, 1940, with the rank of

. He died on July 29, 1952, in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, and is buried at

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is a federal military cemetery in the city of San Diego, California. It is located on the grounds of the former Army coastal artillery station Fort Rosecrans and is administered by the United States Department ...

together with his wife Julianna Busby Cole (1878–1953). Their son, Captain Cyrus Churchill Cole, USN (1913–1967), served as a submarine commander in the Pacific during World War II and was also awarded with the Navy Cross in 1944.

Decorations

Here is the decoration list of Rear Admiral Cole:

References

External links

Cyrus W. Cole Diary, 1896 MS 410
held b
Special Collections & ArchivesNimitz Library
at th
United States Naval Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Cyrus W. 1876 births 1952 deaths People from Marshall, Michigan United States Naval Academy alumni Naval War College alumni United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) Military personnel from Michigan American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American military personnel of the Philippine–American War United States Navy personnel of World War I Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal