BUFFALO, NY – Yet another honor was bestowed Monday upon a 103-year-old World War II veteran from Western New York.
Capt. Sydney Cole was presented with the 2018 New York State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame honor by NYS Sen. Chris Jacobs during a ceremony at the Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center where Cole currently resides.
Cole was discharged from the U.S. Army on December 27, 1945.
During his military career, he was awarded the Bronze Star medal, Purple Heart, Air Medal, POW Medal, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze star service stars, World War II Victory Medal and, with the assistance of the Canadian Consulate, a Canadian War Medal for his service in the RCAF.
Cole served during World War II as a pilot from 1943-1945 and was a Prisoner of War for several months.
He initially enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force before the United States entered the war.
In September 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and joined the 776th Field Artillery Battalion and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
On January 2, 1945 Cole became a Prisoner of War after his aircraft was hit by enemy fire and disabled.
Shot several times by German troops during his descent, he went down behind enemy lines and was captured two days later nearly bleeding and freezing to death.
In prior interviews, Cole recalled throwing his dog tags as far possible into the woods, realizing they indicated that he was Jewish, and fearful that if the Germans discovered this, he would be sent to a concentration camp and most likely killed.
Following his discharge, Cole married his wife Sybil, and had one child Richard.
“You, sir are a national treasure,” declared Michael Swartz, the acting Director of the Veteran’s Health Care System in Western New York, who was present at the ceremony.
“I appreciate him thinking that,” Cole told WGRZ-TV. “One thing I knew was that I had to do my job, and I thought I did it 100 percent," he said.
Click on the video player to watch our story from Reporter Dave McKinley and Photojournalist Bob Mancuso. Email Dave at: Dave.McKinley@wgrz.com Follow Dave on Twitter: @DaveMcKinley2