USS ''Cole'' (DD-155) was a in the

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 ...

during

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, later reclassified as AG-116. It was named for

Edward B. Cole 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 ...

, a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...

officer who died as a result of the wounds he received at the Battle of Belleau Wood. ''Cole'' was launched 11 January 1919, by William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Company of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

sponsored by Mrs. E. B. Cole, and commissioned 19 June 1919.

Service history

''Cole'' sailed from New York 30 June 1919, to join U.S. Naval Forces in

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waters. For the next year they aided in the evacuation of refugees fleeing turmoil and war in the

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and showed the flag in the eastern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

and

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s, returning to

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on 4 June 1920. It cruised in East Coast and Caribbean waters until decommissioned at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 10 July 1922. Recommissioned on 1 May 1930, ''Cole'' joined the Scouting Fleet in the Atlantic. Once again it cruised along the east coast and in the Caribbean and took part in training exercises. From 22 October 1932 to 24 March 1933, ''Cole'' was in reduced commission at Norfolk Naval Shipyard as part of a rotating reserve squadron. On 4 April 1933, the destroyer participated in the fruitless search for survivors of the wreck of the

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

. From 3 February to 14 August 1934, the ship was again reduced to the rotating reserve squadron. On 15 August 1934, ''Cole'' was assigned to the Scouting Force in the Pacific, and following maneuvers in the Caribbean reached its new base at San Diego, California on 9 November. It remained in the Pacific until 24 May 1936, and then reported to New York as a Naval Reserve training ship. She arrived at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 25 September and was decommissioned there on 7 January 1937. Recommissioned 16 October 1939, ''Cole'' joined the Neutrality Patrol in the Atlantic. From 10 June 1941, she escorted

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be use ...

s to Newfoundland and

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making five such voyages by 28 January 1942. From 14 March to 28 September, the destroyer patrolled and escorted convoys along the east coast, making one convoy run to the

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. She put to sea from

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on 24 October for the invasion of North Africa on 8 November during which she landed 175 men of the 47th Infantry under fire on a pier at Safi, Morocco. ''Cole'' received the Presidential Unit Citation for her performance in this mission. Returning to

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on 1 December, she resumed convoy duty and between 18 December 1942 and 16 February 1943, she operated between the east coast, Newfoundland, and

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, then made a voyage to Gibraltar in March. The destroyer returned to the Mediterranean, reaching

Mers El Kébir Mers El Kébir ( ar, المرسى الكبير, translit=al-Marsā al-Kabīr, lit=The Great Harbor ) is a port on the Mediterranean Sea, near Oran in Oran Province, northwest Algeria. It is famous for the attack on the French fleet in 1940, in t ...

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on 23 May. Along with patrol and escort duties in the Western Mediterranean, ''Cole'' took part in the Allied Invasion of Sicily on 10 July 1943, acting with a British submarine as a beach identification group, and later guarded transports during the assault on Salerno on 9 September. She returned to Charleston, South Carolina for overhaul on 24 December, after which she resumed convoy escort duty along the east coast and in the Caribbean, making one voyage to Casablanca in March 1944. On 3 December 1944, she began duty as a plane guard for aircraft carriers conducting air operations out of

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, which continued until 31 August 1945. She was reclassified AG-116 on 30 June 1945. ''Cole'' was decommissioned on 1 November 1945, and sold 6 October 1947.

Awards

In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation, ''Cole'' received three battle stars for

service.

Convoys escorted

In popular culture

In June 2017, the ship's bell from ''Cole'' was found in New Hampshire during an episode of the

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

cable television channel's series, '' American Pickers.'' It was subsequently donated to the Navy Museum in Washington D.C.

References

External links

navsource.org: USS ''Cole'' (DD-155 / AG-116)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole (Dd-155) Wickes-class destroyers World War II destroyers of the United States World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships built by William Cramp & Sons 1919 ships