Dale Cole
Copyright © Donald F. Gourley, 2014

In fond memory of Leonard Dale Cole; rifleman, RTO, squad leader, good man in a firefight and recipient of a well deserved Bronze Star with "V" for Valor who served with 2d Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion/501st Infantry 101st Airborne Division in 1968-1969.

I met Dale Cole when I joined 2d platoon and liked him from the beginning. Intelligent, dependable and loyal, Dale was what you hoped for in every soldier. Married and in his early 20s, he came from a small town outside Alamo, TN where he worked in a mill until being drafted. His nickname was "Hillbilly" and it fit but it also proved the point that first impressions are not always correct.

My first and most vivid recollection of Dale Cole was his teeth; he had the worst mouth I have ever seen. Missing decayed and rotted teeth... you name the dental problem and Dale had it big time. From the beginning, I urged him to go to the rear and get treatment but he always declined. I reached the point where saw no reason to push the issue and in any case, I wanted and needed him in the field.

Dale was with 2d platoon as we went through the villes, the foothills west of Phu Bai, the triple canopy of the Ruong Ruong and A Shau Valleys and of course Tam Ky. Whatever his assignment at the time, he always gave 100%. When I moved to A Co in August 1969, I continued to see him on those occasions when the companies came in to LZSally and we always enjoyed catching up.

At about the nine-month point in his tour, Dale came to LZ Sally, looked me up and told me he was in to get his teeth fixed. Dale was too modest to brag about the rest of the story but I got it from other sources all of whom couldn't help being highly impressed with his accomplishment.

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The Army dentist took one look in Dale's mouth and told him what everyone including Dale expected; all his teeth had to come out, nothing could be saved. So, out they came, impressions were taken to make a full set of false teeth and Dale went back to C Company HQ.

There 1SG Huey P. Danley greeted him and told him to grab his rucksack and weapon as he was going back to the field immediately. "I'm sorry First Sergeant but I can't do that", said Dale. "What do you mean Cole?" said 1SG Danley in his best senior NCO tone of voice and Dale explained.

The Army has a regulation on every imaginable issue and according to the AR covering dental health matters, a soldier cannot be required to eat field rations ("Cs") unless he has "x number" of real or false teeth. "Cs" were the only thing available in the field so Dale, with nothing but empty gums at that moment had to be given access to mess hall food 24/7 until his false teeth arrived.

Of course 1SG Danley, who was a good man and the kind of 1SG every unit should have, checked the AR and discovered that Dale was absolutely correct. His next question was. "OK Cole, when will you get your new teeth?" The answer was, "In three months first sergeant." He explained that the impressions were sent to a dental lab in California that made the false teeth and shipped them back to Vietnam.

By an amazing coincidence the turn-around time of three months was almost exactly the amount of time remaining in Dale's Vietnam tour. 1SG Danley realized he'd been beaten and didn't attempt to push the issue. He also recognized that he now had a buck sergeant permanently assigned to the rear who was totally reliable and who could make his life easier.

So Dale in due course got his new set of teeth and went home soon afterward. He never said and I didn't ask but I have no doubt that Dale found out about that Army Reg early on, probably before he got to Vietnam and planned accordingly. Good work, young soldier!

When we began the effort of locating the members of 2d platoon and C Company in the early 2000 time frame, we learned from a Social Security Number check that Dale had died back in the mid-80s. He should have had more time.

Donald F. Gourley (2-6)
1LT, INF
2nd Platoon, C Co, 1st Battalion 501st Infantry
101st Airborne Division 1969

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