Burton Cole: Tuskegee Patient One of Five Vets of Spanish War

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Added by Cheryl_Bills on 10 Sep 2007

From a newspaper article shared with me by Burton's grandson, Wyn Cole:

Written by John Dagley, Enquirer Staff Writer 7/23/1980

Tuskegee, Ala.--Burton Cole's name may not be familiar to you, but when he celebrates his birthday President Carter is among the dignataries who congratulate him.

That's because Cole, who turned 101 Tuesday, is one of only five living veterans of the Spanish-American War. He's the only veteran of that forgotten war, living in Alabama.

Cole was the star attraction on "family-day" Tuesday at Tuskegee's Veterans Administrative Hospital, where he's lived for 10 years in the hospital's nursing home.

His eyesight and hearing are poor. He sleeps a lot, and according to his son Emerson, he spends much of his waking time in a reverie.

Yet Cole is doing "better than ever now, even better than last year," says his son.

Emerson Cole, a retired illustrator, who lives in Huntsville, tells an interesting story about his father.

"Dad was born in New York state, in the Adirondacks. He had only a third or fourth grade education when he got out of the service, and you know, he went back to school with the younger kids and went all the way through college at New York University.

"He never saw action in the war. He trained to fight, but the hostilities ended before he could be sent to Cuba. Instead of mustering them out when the war ended, the Army sent Dad and the others out west to fight some of the last battles with the Indians.

"Dad is part Indian himself. His grandmother was a Seminole princess who left her tribe in the Tampa Bay area to protest the tribe's cruelty against its own people. They were terribly cruel to their old people and would just leave them out in the woods to die.

"She left the Tampa Bay area and walked across the state. At Jacksonville, she met a Mohawk Indian who had traveled down the east coast from up north because he was fascinated with the ocean. He talked her into going north with him. Meanwhile, though, a posse from her tribe came after her. But she went on to New York and, to this day, there are Seminole Indians living in New York.

"After he graduated from NYU, Dad taught school for 16 years in one-room country schoolhouses in upstate New York. Farming was what he really liked best, though, but he wasn't as good at it as he was teaching."

For the past 20 years, Cole has lived in Florida and Alabama VA hospitals.

The nurses and attendants at Tuskegee's VA Hospital speak fondly of Cole, and credit his long life to the way he takes care of himself. They say he eats well, keeps himself warm, stays relatively active but never does anything hurriedly.

Florida--the State; or Florida, New York???

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On 11 Sep 2007 Wyn Cole wrote: As I understand from my father, Gerald Emerson Cole, my grandfather David B. Cole and his sister were orphans. I never knew my grand fathers sisters name or his parents name. All I know is his wife’s name. The name of the Indian wife, as I was told by my father was “Rain on the face” and that she was with the Delaware tribe. As far as proof, I would have to go the veterans administration to dig out that information if I can. It may bare knowing that my grand father Cole died in 1981 (I think) at the age of 101 ½ . We still have the cape he wore in the Spanish American war and somewhere we have a family picture of Rain on the face. My sister and I will spend some time looking for the picture, but it could be anywhere. I understand the confusion about where the Indian came from. The story in the paper came from my dad. I can remember my dad and his brother arguing about it. Dad said she came from Florida, my uncle said she was from NY. I can’t help but notice that there is a Florida in NY. Could this be a misunderstanding on my father’s part? The argument between my father and his brother was that the Indian came up from Florida and my uncle said she did not. I don’t have any military papers on my grand father. I would be interested in trying to obtain some if I could.

Gerald E Cole