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LTC Cole Purple Heart


Easy502
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There has been some discussion about this Purple Heart on the Purple Hearts study group on Facebook.

 

As of 20 years ago Cole's MOH was, and probably his Purple Heart too, were in a Safe Deposit box in Texas.

 

His name is a very common name. There are 10 US Army Enlisted men alone that share that name who served in WWII. Based on that fact and with no direct provenance tying it to him, It is very unlikely this medal was his. There are also some questions concerning the engraving on the medal itself. It might not be official engraving.

 

It probably belonged to another WWII soldier from the NY area that shared the same name.

 

Kurt

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FB213B17-2AEA-45F7-83B5-DBAA616AC9E3.jpeg

 

Its is not the greatest photo, but the hand engraving IMHO appears to be private vs official engraving. That doesn't mean its recent engraving, it looks old, just not government engraving.

 

Kurt

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There has been some discussion about this Purple Heart on the Purple Hearts study group on Facebook.

As of 20 years ago Cole's MOH was, and probably his Purple Heart too, were in a Safe Deposit box in Texas. His son died recently however.

His name is a very common name. There are 10 US Army Enlisted men alone that share that name who served in WWII. Based on that fact and with no direct provenance tying it to him, It is very unlikely this medal was his. There are also some questions concerning the engraving on the medal itself. It might not be official engraving.

It probably belonged to another WWII soldier from the NY area that shared the same name.

Kurt

 

I agree, the engraving looks a bit "off" to me, at least for official. It looks re ribboned as well given the odd length. You would think something like this would be vetted a bit more thoroughly before initiating the three ring media circus.....but such are the times we live in :)

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I agree, the engraving looks a bit "off" to me, at least for official. It looks re ribboned as well given the odd length. You would think something like this would be vetted a bit more thoroughly before initiating the three ring media circus.....but such are the times we live in :)

 

Very true on the ribbon length, Its been re-ribboned. Generally a Posthumous Purple Heart is not re-ribboned unless a collector did it.

 

Kurt

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This is a screenshot off a post from facebook. With this straight shot, I say that the engraving is not official government engraving and as such, this is not LTC Cole's posthumous Purple Heart.

 

I was willing to be cautious and give it the benefit of the doubt when I only saw the image of the engraving from an angle. Now, I'm certain it's privately engraved.

 

 

Screenshot_4.jpg

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I know that Mark Bando was in contact with Robert Cole's son and his son was very proud of his dad's medals. My understanding was that they were to stay in the family and IF they were to ever leave, they were to go to the West Point museum.

 

I concur with the others, something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

 

Allan

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Apparently there isn’t much money involved so it isn’t too rotten.

 

It’s not really about money. Its about the fact the school is proudly displaying something that isn’t what it is supposed to be and the disappointment they will feel if they find that out.

 

I am glad LTC Cole’s service is being highlighted due to this news story, so that is one good thing. Its also giving those students a greater appreciation for history.

 

Kurt

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I wonder who sold it and if they knew anything about it?

 

It must have been cheap for someone who doesn’t collect to buy it?

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This whole article is FAKE NEWS and one big lie! A friend of mine contacted the family and they confirmed that they are holding both the MOH and the Purple Heart medals. The article also mentions that Ltc Cole's son Bruce passed away, well, let me assure you that he has not. Seems like someone felt it necessary to create a fake Purple Heart medal with Cole's name on it to increase its value and/or the attention level. These people probably do not realize how they are hurting the family's feelings (or they simple don't care). And its amazing that no-one has done any fact checking before releasing the article. So much for decent journalism.

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https://www.foxnews.com/us/medal-of-honor-purple-heart-gun-show-vanishing

 

post-163305-0-20272400-1573627747_thumb.jpg

 

Medal of Honor recipient's Purple Heart purchased at gun show,

donated to school decades after it vanished - By Robert Gearty | Fox News

 

A Purple Heart belonging to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient from Texas that had been lost for decades was bought by a woman at a gun show on Long Island, N.Y., this past September for $60 -- and on Friday, she donated it to a Texas school bearing the name of the honoree.

 

The medal was presented at a Veterans Day ceremony to Robert G. Cole Middle and High School in San Antonio, at a ceremony in front of 750 students.

 

"The kids went nuts. When we dismissed them to go back to class, they just poured out of the stands and everyone wanted to see it,” retired Army Col. William LaChance, who has run the Reserve Officers' Training Corps [ROTC] program at the school, told News 12 Long Island.

 

The medal originally was presented to Army Lt. Col. Robert Cole. However, the award eventually made its way to the gun show, where Lisa Ludwig of West Babylon, N.Y., bought it.

 

The seller was a man who bought military medals from estate sales and resold them, the Rivard Report in San Antonio reported.

 

The man wanted $120 for the Purple Heart, which Ludwig said she couldn’t afford, according to the news outlet. At the end of the show, he surprised her by knocking his price down to $60.

 

Ludwig told the Rivard Report she thought she was getting a Purple Heart with no name inscribed on it. She said it blew her mind to discover hers had a name.

 

She said when the seller realized his mistake, he asked for it back, saying it was worth as much as $2,500, the news outlet reported.

 

With the Purple Heart in her possession, Ludwig said she then researched Cole’s background and got an even bigger shock.

 

Cole was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading a battalion against dug-in German forces near Carentan, France, five days after he and his men parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, officials said.

Three months later, a German sniper killed Cole in the Netherlands. A month after that, on Oct. 30, 1944, his widow, son and mother were presented his Medal of Honor and Purple Heart at a ceremony in Texas.

LaChance told the Rivard Report officials have been unable to find any other relatives of Cole still living.

 

“What a huge piece of history,” LaChance told the news outlet. “Even though Robert G. Cole never had it pinned on his chest, I feel like now we have a piece of him, and that’s important for the kids.”

LaChance said it’s been decades since anyone has seen Cole’s Medal of Honor.

 

Ludwig told the Rivard Report she felt wonderful about donating the Purple Heart to the school.

“It’s a beautiful story,” Ludwig said. “I felt very warm-hearted and full-hearted and very American. That really made me feel like such a good American, and I’m so happy that it’s where it should be.”

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Not sure if the engraving is legit... I'll leave that to the experts... But if there ever was a medal to be faked, that would be it!



Obviously something is wrong with the medal’s ribbon drape! Not correct nor WWII period…



And the article doesn’t really say how it "disappeared"… Maybe the family sold it? Who to say it really disappeared in the first place?



It's nice the school has it, at least they will remember his service!


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So many things are just wrong with the whole scenario on how it surfaced, where it surfaced, the media attention and of course the medal it's self that it's commical.

 

TH1

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Everything about the news story is odd.

 

1) The (supposed) militaria dealer doesn't remember that this PH on his table is named?

 

2) It was priced at $120, but then discounted to $60? But then, after he re-realized it was named, it's worth $2500?

 

3) Nobody checks with the family; cross-indexes to make sure this is THE vet in question and not a vet with the same name; or follows up with the seller to see where it came from?

 

It reminds me of the saying I heard once.... "You must poop standing up, because nothing you do makes any sense.".

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I wonder how this SNAFU will play out?

 

My guess is that nothing will happen unless the Cole family breaks their silence.

 

I don’t think that will happen.

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