SHIP GETS NAME OF WAR HERO

POPLAR BLUFF -- More than 50 years after his death, an area Marine received additional recognition when the Navy named a ship after him.

The USS Cole, the eighth Aegis destroyer, was christened April 8, in Pascagoula, Miss. Marine Sgt. Darrell Samuel Cole, a World War II hero, was killed during the invasion of Iwo Jima in 1945.

Cole's niece, Diana Williford of Poplar Bluff, was among 33 family members to attend the christening ceremony. She said the ship's dedication to her uncle was an honor for her family.

Cole, born in 1920 in Hurryville, near Park Hills, was one of nine children. To help support his family, he worked as a janitor at the high school he attended.

At the outbreak of World War II, Cole enlisted in the Marine Corps and was assigned to the 1st Marine Division as a bugler. Unhappy with his assignment as a field musician, he wanted a combat assignment.

After another Marine had been wounded, Cole was assigned to the 4th Marine Division, and found himself behind a machine gun. He fought at Kwajalein, Saipan and Tinian. At Saipan he was designated a machine gun section leader and later became squadron leader.

On Feb. 19, 1945, Cole led his machine gun squad against Japanese fortifications during the invasion of Iwo Jima. After all of the squad's machine guns had either jammed or had been destroyed, Cole continued to assault Japanese positions armed only with a pistol and grenades.

Williford said her uncle had destroyed three pillboxes despite stiff resistance before returning to his squad's position for additional grenades.

"They said he had been bayoneted before he came back for more grenades," said another niece, Sheila Murphy of Poplar Bluff. "While he was coming back he was killed when a Japanese grenade exploded."

Cole was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery at Iwo Jima. He also was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, American Defense Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal. The awards and a bronze bust of Cole, dedicated in 1985, are displayed at Mineral Area Community College in Park Hills.

The final tribute is the 505-foot, 8,600-ton destroyer bearing his name.

Construction of the ship began March 13, 1993, and is scheduled to be completed in 1996, when it will be assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and stationed at Mayport, Fla.