COLE DDG 67
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
Keel Laid 28 February 1994 - Launched 10 February 1995 Christened 8 April 1995 Commissioned 8 June 1996 Heavily damaged by terrorists 12 October 2000 while in Aden, Yemen Returned to duty 19 April 2002 |
 "Glory is the Reward of Valor" |
This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- USS Cole DDG-67 Covers Page 1 (1996-2019)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
|
Postmark Type |
Postmark Date |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
|---|
|
Locy Type |
1996-06-08 |
 |
 |
Commissioning. Ship's cachet, cover serviced by Wolfgang Hechler
|
Locy Type |
1996-06-08 |
 |
 |
Note:
|
Locy Type |
1998-07-09 |
 |
 |
Ship's cachet, cover serviced by Wolfgang Hechler. Signed by the CO.
|
Locy Type |
2019-07-22 |
 |
 |
Cachet by Dennis W. Gill
|
Locy Type |
2002-03-11 |
 |
 |
Cachet by Wolfgang Hechler
|
Locy Type |
2002-03-11 |
 |
|
Cachet by Wolfgang Hechler
|
Locy Type |
2015-10-12 |
 |
 |
Columbus Day, cover by Roger Wentworth
|
Locy Type F |
2002-07-04 |
 |
 |
Port Visit for Independence Day, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
|
Locy Type F |
2009-02-24 |
 |
 |
100th Anniversary of the Great White Fleet, serviced by Rich Hoffner
USPS Pictorial Postmarks
|
USPS Special Event Cancel |
2000-10-12 |
 |
 |
This postmark was requested from Stamp Fulfillment Services in Kansas City by a USCS member / cachetmaker. It is what SFS calls a "special event cancel". They are available to registered dealers for $25.00 for the device plus 5 cents a cancel for each cancel over 50. Minimum is 50 items cancelled.
The cancel caused a lot of negative comments at the time, especially when it was discovered that a number of the fatalities on the USS Cole were in the post office area. Kansas City revised their rules to prohibit special event cancels for APO and FPO locations.
The cancel is a legitimate USPS postmark but was never used on board the USS Cole.
Cachet by Warren (Wildy) Wildermuth.
|
USPS Pictorial |
2001-10-12 |
 |
 |
Memorial Dedication, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
|
USPS Pictorial |
2002-07-04 |
 |
 |
Port Visit for Independence Day, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
|
USPS Pictorial |
2002-07-04 |
 |
|
Visit CANCELLED by the US Navy, read text box
Port Visit for Independence Day, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
|
USPS Pictorial |
2015-05-04 |
 |
 |
25th Anniversary of Broward Navy Days, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS
Other Information
USS COLE has earned the Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon (2 awards), the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon, the National Defense Service Medal, the Navy "E" Ribbon (6 awards) and the Navy Expeditionary Medal during her Naval career.
NAMESAKE - Sergeant Darrell Samuel Cole, USMC (July 20 1920 – February 19 1945).
During the battle for Saipan (1943), PFC Cole was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his resolute leadership, indomitable fighting spirit and tenacious determination in the face of terrific opposition. He was also awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action.
On February 19 1945, Sergeant Cole led his machine gun section ashore in the D-Day assault of Iwo Jima. Moving forward with the initial assault wave, a hail of fire from two enemy emplacements halted his section's advance. Sergeant Cole personally destroyed them with hand grenades. His unit continued to advance until pinned down for a second time by enemy fire from three Japanese gun emplacements. One of these emplacements was silenced by Cole's machine guns. When his machine guns jammed, armed only with a pistol and one hand grenade, Sergeant Cole made a one-man attack against the two remaining gun emplacements. Twice he returned to his own lines for additional grenades and continued the attack under fierce enemy fire until he had succeeded in destroying the enemy strong points.
Upon returning to his own squad, he was instantly killed by an enemy grenade. By his one-man attack and heroic self-sacrifice, Sergeant Cole enabled his company to move forward against the fortifications and attain their ultimate objective.
Sergeant Cole was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his conspicuous gallantry.
The ships sponsor is Mrs. Lee Perry.
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
Copyright 2024 Naval Cover Museum