[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 102 (Wednesday, June 21, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8819-S8820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO HERBERT P. COLE, JR.

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Herbert P. 
Cole, Jr., a great Alabamian and American who recently passed away in 
his hometown of Mobile, AL.
  Herb was born in Mobile on January 8, 1919, in an antebellum home 
known as Oakleigh, which is now a symbol of Mobile and the South. He 
began his education at the University Military School and then 
graduated from the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ, in 1938. 
That fall he entered Princeton University. The dark clouds of World War 
II were plainly visible and influenced his studies at Princeton. 
Deciding that America's entry in the war was only a matter of time, he 
learned to fly and joined the civilian pilot training program. In his 
senior thesis, he combined his love for flying with his major, 
economics. He concluded that America's aircraft industry could never 
gear up in time to be a factor in the war.
  Upon graduation in June 1942, he set out to prove his conclusion 
wrong. He immediately joined the Navy as an aviation cadet. He found 
primary training in Pensacola to be relatively easy since he had logged 
more hours than his instructor had and, in fact, gave his instructor 
several pointers. Following carrier qualification in the Great Lakes, 
he accepted a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps. When asked why he 
chose the Marines over the Navy, he would explain that the scuttlebutt 
was that the Navy pilots would be kept State-side to serve as 
instructors but the Marine aviators would be sent overseas. As was 
typical of him, he was eager to get the job done and thus joined the 
Marines.
  Once overseas, he was assigned to VMSB-341, the Flying Turtles, and 
flew the SDB Dauntless dive bomber. His missions included strikes 
against enemy ships and ground support against enemy forces on Rabaul 
and Guadalcanal, included missions to locate and destroy the infamous 
``Pistol Pete'' artillery piece. He earned the Air Medal for his 
actions in World War II.
  Following the war, he returned to Mobile. In 1948, he married Valery 
Converse. He began his career in industrial sales with the Ruberoid 
Co., now known as GAF. Ruberoid moved Herb and his growing family 
around the South, first to Americus, GA, then to Jacksonville, FL, and 
finally back to Mobile. When Ruberoid threatened to move him again, 
this time somewhere up North, he quit. He had decided that no where in 
the world were there any people as fine as the ones he knew in Alabama. 
He then joined BLP Mobile Paint Co. as a salesman. He eventually became 
vice president for sales.
  Herb Cole was not all work, though; he found time to enjoy his family 
and life. Rather than say goodbye, he would often leave his family with 
the admonition, ``enjoy.'' Like many southerners, he was a sportsman. 
He enjoyed sailing, hunting, fishing, and supporting the Crimson Tide 
of Alabama and the Tigers of Princeton. His greatest sports interest, 
though, was golf. He was an avid golfer all of his life and shot five 
holes-in-one, including one when he was in his seventies.
  In 1975, he took an early retirement from BLP Mobile Paint Co. 
Although he dabbled in real estate and other business ventures at this 
time, he saw retirement as a time to continue to give to the community. 
He served on the vestry at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Mobile, on 
the board at the YMCA, and as a local representative for Princeton.
  Probably Herbert's most memorable qualities were his deeply held 
Christian beliefs and his love for St. Paul's Church. The only place 
Herbert could [[Page S 8820]] be found on Sunday mornings would be on 
the fourth pew from the rear in the chapel at St. Paul's Church, along 
with his wife and four children.
  In sum, Mr. President, any measure of a man one could take, Herbert 
Cole met. He was intelligent, articulate, a loving and loved husband 
and father, a war hero, a successful businessman, and a devout 
Christian. My colleagues and I send our condolences to ``Miss Valery,'' 
their 4 children and 10 grandchildren. To Herbert Cole, I say ``Semper 
Fidelis.''


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