| Sgt. Darrell Cole's diary, books,
pictures find home in Stars and Stripes
By S. GREMINGER\Daily Journal Managing Editor
Mar 07, 2005
When Nelda Bleckler of Bonne Terre visited the Stars and Stripes Museum in
Bloomfield, she was dismayed to find the facility had very little information and only a
small photo of the late Darrell S. Cole, the Marine for whom the USS Cole is named.
Terrorists attacked the USS Cole in the port of Yemen in October of 2000 causing the death
of 17 American sailors. It has since been repaired and returned to active duty in the war
on terror.
Sgt. Cole is the only man from St. Francois County to be awarded the Congressional Medal
of Honor. He died Feb. 19, 1945, on Iwo Jima.
His citation states that with his company pinned down on the beach of Iwo Jima, Sgt. Cole
stormed Japanese pillboxes armed only with a pistol and grenades. He jumped on top of each
pillbox and threw an armed grenade inside, returning to his own lines three times to get
more grenades. On his third trip back, he was killed.
Bleckler remembered that the late Joe Layden, former managing editor of the Daily Journal,
had organized a ceremony to honor Sgt. Cole in the 1980s.
When she called the newspaper wanting some photographs and more information on Sgt. Cole,
she was happily surprised that some of that material was still in possession of the
editorial staff.
Photographs of Sgt. Cole were located, including the last known photograph taken following
his hospitalization after being wounded on Tinian. There was also a copy of his military
diary and various other books that had been in his possession.
The staff gave the material to Bleckler to donate to the museum in honor of Joe Layden.
Bleckler in her capacity as Missouri State President of American War Mothers took the
material to the museum in February.
"This is the finest collection I've seen," Paul Arnold, museum curator, said of
the donation. "It is an outstanding addition for our planned exhibit on area Medal of
Honor recipients.
Other Southeast Missouri Congressional Medal of Honor recipients include 1st Lt. George
Kenneth Sisler, (Vietnam), Dexter; PFC Richard G. Wilson, (Korea), Cape Girardeau; and
Pvt. Billie G. Kannell, (Korea), Poplar Bluff.
For many, Stars and Stripes represents more than just our American flag. They recognize it
as the newspaper that serves U.S. military personnel.
On Nov. 9, 1861, 10 Illinois Union soldiers, using the vacated press of the Bloomfield
Herald, published the first Stars and Stripes, which they named after the American flag.
One of the original copies of that 1861 paper is now owned by the Stoddard County
Historical Society. It is being preserved at the Stars and Stripes Museum/Library.
The facility serves historians, students and writers as an invaluable research tool. It
also provides the general public with an educational opportunity to share the history and
experience of veterans and Stripers alike. The museum/library is located in Stoddard
County between Bloomfield and Dexter on State Hwy. 25.
The museum/library is open weekdays, except Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; on Saturday
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. |
