Photo By Lori Stewart | On 16 June 1943, S. Sgt. Buster Cole, a U.S. Army counterintelligence special agent...... read more read more
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by Lori S. Stewart, USAICoE Command Historian
16 JUNE 1943
On 16 June 1943, S. Sgt. Buster Cole, a U.S. Army counterintelligence special agent stationed in Akureyri, Iceland, assisted several civilians off a boat strafed by German fighter aircraft. Cole earned a Soldier’s Medal for his heroism and selfless actions that day.
Buster Cole was born in Saltillo, Texas, in November 1911. After graduating from Hardin-Simmons University, he was admitted to the Texas State Bar in 1933. He practiced law in nearby Bonham and served as the attorney for Fannin County for four years. In 1942, once the United States joined the Allies to defeat Germany, the 31-year-old Cole enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was assigned to the Counter Intelligence Corps and sent to England. In early 1943, he transferred to the CIC detachment in Iceland.
American forces arrived in neutral Iceland in July 1941, taking on the protectorate role the British had established the previous May. Although far from actual combat operations, Iceland’s location on the northern Atlantic and Arctic supply routes made it vulnerable to German clandestine activities. By mid-1943, 40,000 American troops were stationed on the island. Counterintelligence personnel protected them against attempted subversion, sabotage, and subterfuge, and remained alert to the presence of any enemy aircraft, submarines, or strangers in and around Iceland. [See "This Week in MI History" #100 30 July 1941] In May 1943, the detachment was comprised of nine officers and ninety-eight enlisted men under the command of Maj. Richard D. Stevens.
Iceland’s unique geography taxed the CIC. The island had 3,700 miles of shorelines, and innumerable fjords made overland travel difficult. Movement was typically by boat. The detachment was headquartered at Reykjavik, and Stevens established cells of CIC agents in the outlying areas. Upon arrival in Iceland, Cole was assigned to the northern capital of Iceland, Akureyri. With a population of 5,300, this fishing center was the island’s second largest town.
On 16 June 1943, the SS Súdín, one of five merchant ships armed to provide protection to fishing vessels, was loitering near Flatey Island thirty-five miles north of Akureyri. At 1:30 p.m., two German aircraft attempted to bomb the ship. The bombs missed, but they detonated close enough to damage to the Súdín. The planes then strafed the boat with machine gun and small cannon fire. The Súdín limped into the harbor at Husavik, where Sergeant Cole and several others helped evacuate and tend to the wounded. Ultimately, two crew members died and five were injured.
On 27 January 1944, Cole received a Soldier’s Medal for assisting the civilians on the damaged Súdín. Shortly thereafter, he returned to the United States, completed Staff Judge Advocate Officer Candidate School at the University of Michigan, and was sent to New Delhi, India. Capt. Cole was discharged in 1945 and returned to his law career in Bonham, Texas. He served as president of the Texas State Bar from 1963-1964 and, later, in 1987, the new state jail was named in his honor. Buster Cole passed away on 20 January 1988.
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| Date Taken: | 06.12.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.12.2023 10:52 |
| Story ID: | 446753 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 48 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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