Edward C. Cole was born in December 1918 and grew up in Bordentown, New Jersey during the Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States]. His father was unable to work and his mother was a homemaker. They saw some bad times. Cole played basketball and baseball and ran track in high school. In his economics class senior year, the teacher told the students they were going into war. This was in 1937, Cole's last year in high school. He did not think much of it at the time. He did not have plans after graduation. He was not going to college and jobs were hard to come by. The Army was the only thing open to Cole, but his father would not allow it. Instead, he did odd jobs for the WPA [Annotator's Note: the Works Progress Administration], cutting grass, working on highways, etc. He then got a job in 1940 working for John A. Roebling Company [Annotator's Note: Roebling's Sons Company & American Steel & Wire Company in Trenton, New Jersey] which manufactured steel cable. He was then drafted in 1942. He was not anxious to go into war. His sisters gave him a farewell party.

Edward C. Cole [Annotator’s Note: after being drafted into the Army in 1942] spent two days at Fort Dix [Annotator's Note: now Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Trenton, New Jersey] before being shipped to Fort McClellan, Alabama just before Christmas [Annotator's Note: Christmas 1942] for basic training. He learned how to fight, protect himself, and shoot a gun. It was tough, he did not really enjoy it. They marched up to 25 miles with a full field pack and rifle. After basic, he was sent to Fort Huachuca, Arizona where the whole division [Annotator's Note: 92nd Infantry Division] of 15,000 men were stationed. He remained there and did more training for nine months before being deployed overseas. They left Newport News, Virginia on a Victory ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship]. The ship was in a convoy and the voyage lasted about a month. Everyone had their share of seasickness. They had to sleep in hammocks. They arrived in Leghorn [Annotator's Note: also known as Livorno], Italy. It was the worst night ever. It was pouring down rain and they had to pitch their pup tens in the mud under the rain. After landing, they learned one of the ships in their convoy had been hit by a German submarine.

Edward C. Cole and his unit [Annotator's Note: 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division] never stayed in the same place for very long [Annotator's Note: after arriving in Leghorn, or Livorno, Italy in 1944]. After Leghorn, they went all over Italy, including Florence, Rome, and many small towns. They would stay in empty houses in the towns. Many Italians had never seen African-Americans before. They treated each other well. There were Germans scattered throughout Italy. Cole was there when Mussolini [Annotator's Note: Italian fascist dictator Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini, also know as il Duce] and his girlfriend [Annotator's Note: Clara Petacci, Mussolini's mistress] were hung [Annotator's Note: after they were executed, their bodies were hung upside down in the Piazzale Loreto in Milan, Italy on 28 April 1945]. Cole's company commander was white, while all members of the unit were African-American. The Army was segregated at the time. The Germans dropped flyers telling the African-American troops to surrender because they were being mistreated in the United States. While that was true, no one surrendered, but it did make them think. Cole only came face to face with Germans toward the end of the war when they were surrendering. He did not have strong feelings about the Germans. A soldier was just a soldier.

Edward C. Cole [Annotator's Note: serving with the 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division] took every opportunity to sight see while serving in Italy. He was also able to spend a weekend in Switzerland. There was no war there, so it was undamaged. Florence and Rome [Annotator's Note: Florence and Rome, Italy] were also nice. Rome had been declared an open city [Annotator's Note: a city which has declared it will abandon all defense to avoid capture or damage of the city]. Cole returned to the United States in December 1945, arriving in Newport News, Virginia in January 1946. He was then discharged in Monmouth, New Jersey and went home. He kissed the ground as soon as he got back to the United States. It was a great thing to be back in a free country. Cole was still in Italy for VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945]. Coming home from war and seeing that a lot had not changed [Annotator's Note: regarding race relations in the United States] was something that Cole could not change. He did not like it. He put his life on the line and came home to a segregated place. Cole used the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] to take a few college courses, although he did not complete college. At the time, he had a good job as a supervisor, and remained in that position for 33 years.

Edward C. Cole's most memorable experience of World War 2 was arriving [Annotator's Note: in Leghorn, or Livorno, Italy in 1944] in the rain with nowhere to go, and not knowing what was going to happen. His life philosophy is to accept the things he cannot change. He did not have trouble readjusting to civilian life. He met a young woman and got married. They were married for 69 years. Growing up in New Jersey, Cole's grammar school was segregated, but not the high school. Cole did not decide to serve, he had no choice [Annotator's Note: he was drafted in 1942]. He feels lucky because many of his friends lost their lives, and he survived. Cole was a sergeant during the war. A friend of his deserted before they deployed overseas. He was not willing to risk his life for a country that was segregated. Russia was given too much power after the war. Cole tries not to think about World War 2. He feels very lucky to still be here after seeing what he saw.