One of the men I owe my freedom is—LT Colonel Robert G. Cole. I do understand people will argue and say, “You were born a free man—long after World War II.” However, because of the sacrifice of men like Robert G. Cole, I was born a free man.
Cole was born at Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio, Texas, to Colonel Clarence F. Cole, an Army doctor, and Clara H. Cole on 19 March 1915. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio in 1933 and joined the United States Army on 1 July 1934. On 26 June 1935, he was honourably discharged to accept an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He was sent to Fort Lewis, where he was appointed to the 15th Infantry Division as a second lieutenant. He served in the 15 infantry division with Dwight D. Eisenhower, who would later become the Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Western Europe. Robert Cole and Dwight Eisenhower became good friends at that time in the division. Robert Cole worked as an officer in the 15th Infantry Division until he joined the paratroops in 1941. He was assigned to the 501 Parachute Infantry Battalion to earn his jump wings.
In the early 1940s, the American army changed its command structure. The parachute battalions were divided into regiments. Robert Cole transferred to the 3rd Battalion of the 502 Parachute Infantry Regiment (3-502 PIR) to take command. Ranking up in the army from a Second-Lieutenant to a Lieutenant-Colonel.
A few days after D-Day, on the afternoon of 10 June, Cole led his 400 battalion men in a single-file line down a long, exposed causeway with marshes on both sides. A hedgerow behind a large farmhouse on the right was occupied by well-dug-in German troops. The last four bridges over the Douve River floodplain were at the far end of the causeway. Beyond was Carentan, which the 101st had been ordered to seize to facilitate a linkup with the 29th Infantry Division coming off Omaha Beach.
As Cole’s Battalion advanced, they were subjected to continuous fire from artillery, machine guns and mortars, and soldiers moved slowly by crawling or crouching, taking many casualties. The survivors huddled against the bank on the far side of the causeway. An obstacle known as a Belgian gate blocked nearly the entire roadway over the last bridge, allowing the passage of only one man at a time. Attempts to force this bottleneck were futile, and the Battalion strategically set up defensive positions for the night.
During the night, Cole’s men were shelled by German mortars and strafed and bombed by two aircraft, causing further casualties and knocking Company I out of the fight. Eventually, the fire from the farm slackened, and the remaining 265 men moved through the obstacle and took up positions for an assault.
With the Germans still resisting any attempt to move beyond the bridges, and after artillery failed to suppress their fire, Cole called for smoke on the dug-in Germans and ordered a bayonet charge, a rarity in World War II. He charged toward the hedgerow, leaving a small portion of his unit. But the remainder of the Battalion soon joined as Cole led the paratroopers into the hedgerows, engaging at close range and with bayonets in hand-to-hand combat. The German survivors retreated, taking more casualties as they withdrew.
The assault, which came to be known as “Cole’s Charge,” proved costly; 130 of Cole’s 265 men became casualties. With his Battalion exhausted, Cole called on the 1st Battalion to pass through his lines to continue the attack. However, they were also severely depleted by mortar fire crossing bridge #4—and took positions with the 3rd Battalion—rather than proceeding. During the morning and afternoon at the edge of Carentan, they were subjected to a strong counterattack by the German 6th Parachute Regiment. At the height of the attack, at about 1900, Cole’s artillery observer managed to break through radio jamming and called down fire by the entire Corps artillery that broke up the attacks for good.
At 0200 on 12 June, the 506th PIR passed through their line and captured Hill 30 South of Carentan. From there, led by Company E, the 2nd Battalion of the 506th PIR (Band of Brothers) attacked North into Carentan in daylight as part of a 3-battalion assault. The German 6th Parachute Regiment was virtually out of ammunition and abandoned the town during the night, leaving only a small rear guard. By 0730 on 12 June, Carentan was captured.
For this he received a Medal of Honor, with the citation:
“For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty on 11 June 1944, in France. Lt. Col. Cole was personally leading his battalion in forcing the last four bridges on the road to Carentan when his entire unit was suddenly pinned down to the ground by intense and withering enemy rifle, machine-gun, mortar, and artillery fire placed upon them from well-prepared and heavily fortified positions within 150 yards of the foremost elements. After the devastating and unceasing enemy fire had for over one hour prevented any move and inflicted numerous casualties, Lt. Col. Cole, observing this almost hopeless situation, courageously issued orders to assault the enemy positions with fixed bayonets. With utter disregard for his own safety and completely ignoring the enemy fire, he rose to his feet in front of his battalion and with drawn pistol shouted to his men to follow him in the assault. Catching up a fallen man’s rifle and bayonet, he charged on and led the remnants of his battalion across the bullet-swept open ground and into the enemy position. His heroic and valiant action in so inspiring his men resulted in the complete establishment of our bridgehead across the Douve River. The cool fearlessness, personal bravery, and outstanding leadership displayed by Lt. Col. Cole reflect great credit upon himself and are worthy of the highest praise in the military service.”
On 18 September 1944, during Operation Market Garden, now-Colonel Cole, commanding the 3rd Battalion of the 502d PIR in Best, Netherlands, broadcasted over the radio. A pilot asked him to put some orange identification panels in the front of his position. Cole decided to do it himself. For a moment, Cole raised his head, shielding his eyes to see the plane. A German sniper in a farmhouse only 300 yards (270 m) away shot Cole, killing him instantly.
Two weeks later, Cole was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bayonet charge near Carentan on 11 June. As his widow and two-year-old son looked on, Cole’s mother accepted his posthumous award on the Fort Sam Houston parade ground where Cole had played as a child.
He is buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, Netherlands.
The story of the American paratroopers serving during World War II became world-famous for the book and the TV series (of the same name) Band of Brothers. Although Robert Cole did not belong to the same regiment, his story is identical—as a paratrooper, he jumped during D-Day and a few months later during Operation Market Garden.
Robert Cole and the men of Band of Brothers were paratroopers—infantry soldiers trained to start their battle as paratroopers. Their training was almost inhumane and challenging. The American paratroopers were the cream of the crop—the elite troops.
LTC Cole is one of the true-to-life characters in the 2005 Gearbox Software games Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood and the 2008 game Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway.
After General Eisenhower heard that Robert Cole had died, he sent Cole’s widow, Allie Mae (dated 8 March 1945), a personal letter of condolence:
Sources
https://www.margratenmemorial.nl/dossier/robert-cole/overview.html
https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/robert-g-cole
https://militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=1338
https://www.ww2marketgarden.com/ltcolrobertgcole.html
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76 years ago you embarked on something that had never been done before. 156,000 of you were dropped on the beaches in Normandy.
for his actions in the days following the D-Day Normandy invasion of World War II.The 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions were the first to jump into occupied France and cease certain important areas. An important part of the invasion, was to capture Carentan. Carentan the link between Utah and Omaha beach.
History of Sorts 
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