Fallen World War II soldier from Atlanta to be laid to rest in Canton in January

After nearly 80 years, an Atlanta-born World War II fallen soldier will come back to the metro area to be laid to rest.

U.S. Army Private First Class Hood E. Cole will be returned to the Atlanta area on Jan. 15, 2024, with a burial in Canton.

Cole died in January 1945 while assigned to L Company, 3rd Battalion, 276th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division, according to the U.S. Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. He was 26.

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According to DPAA, Cole was killed in action when German forces near Baerenthal, France attacked his unit. During the fight, Cole was killed, and due to combat circumstances, his body was unable to be immediately recovered.

In 1947, the American Graves Registration Command began their search for fallen American personnel in the European Theater in order to recover their remains and return them home.

DPAA said none of the investigations around Baerenthal were able to uncover leads about the disposition of Cole’s remains and he was declared unrecoverable in May 1951.

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In 2018, remains of soldiers missing from combat around Baerenthal were disinterred from an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Belgium and flown to Nebraska for analysis.

On Feb. 22, Cole was identified as one of the missing veterans whose remains were recovered.

Due to his previous unrecovered/missing status, Cole’s name was recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Epinal American Cemetery in Dinozé, France along with other soldiers still missing from World War II. Now identified, a rosette will be placed by his name.

Military records show there are still three soldiers associated with PFC Cole’s loss that have yet to be accounted for: 1st Lieutenant Otis Bonebrake, PFC Estle Corvin and Corporal John O’Malley.

On Jan. 15, 2024, Cole will come home to Georgia, to be buried in Canton.

For family and funeral information, the Army Casualty Office can be called at 800-892-2490.

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