COLE SR. & JR. HIGH SCHOOL
This school is named for Robert George Cole (1915-1944), born in the Station Hospital at Fort Sam and a graduate of Jefferson High School. Beginning his career as a private, Cole graduated from West Point in 1939. As Lt. Col. Cole he was a battalion commander in the 101st Airborne Division, landing during the early hours of D-Day in 1944. He was one of two camouflaged paratroopers photographed speaking with Gen. .;Dwight Eisenhower before the D-Day jump. Several days later he led a bayonet charge under heavy fire to seize a causeway over the Douve River, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor, but he did not live to receive it. He was killed by a sniper in Holland on September 18, 1944 while leading his battalion in an ill-fated attempt to break through German defenses before winter. Cole High School won the 3-A state basketball championship in 1989 with a 36-0 undefeated season; the star of the team was its center, Shaquille O’Neal.
