US Army Private Hood Cole enlisted in the Army in 1944. After basic training, he was sent to the European theater. During the Battle of the Bulge, Private Cole was gravely injured. He later died from those injuries and was hastily buried on the battlefield.
Years later, his remains were found and moved to one of the American graveyards as an unknown soldier. After his remains were disinterred and moved to Germany for DNA testing, he was finally identified in December 2023.
On Friday, January 12th, Private Cole was returned to the U.S. and landed at Hartsfield Jackson airport in Atlanta. He was greeted by a group of Patriot Guard and other riders, some of whom are members of Post 304. His remains were escorted to Georgia Funeral Care in Acworth, where Funeral Director Kevin Marcy took great care to ensure that Hoodie, as he was known, was given the honor he so well deserved.
Members of the North Cobb Honor Guard, made up of Post 304 and VFW members, stood guard over Private Cole as he laid in state at the Funeral Home. On Monday, January 15th, Private Cole was escorted to Georgia National Cemetery where he was finally laid to rest. Members of the Patriot Guard and other groups, including Post 304 members, stood in honor for Hoodie as his ceremony was conducted.
We would like to acknowledge and thank those agencies who assisted on the rides including:
Atlanta PD Motors
Acworth PD
Canton PD
Cherokee Co. SO
Cherokee Co. Fire
Cobb SO
Cobb Fire
Georgia State Patrol
GMES
Holly Springs PD
KSU PD
Marietta PD
Woodstock PD
We would also like to send out special thanks to Capt. Tim Murphy of KSU PD and Dan Harr of GMES, who worked together to coordinate many of the pieces that came together. And we want to acknowledge and extrend our thanks and gratitude to Kevin Marcy and Georgia Funeral Care for hosting this hero’s homecoming and celebration of his life and sacrifice.
Below are links to the dash cam views and photos from the events. If you have photos or video that you would like to submit, please reach out to dan@post304.org.
Front Cam – Acworth to GNC – https://youtu.be/JOyHTxRCl0U?si=cRRZmRohmSepArUX
Back Cam – Acworth to GNC – https://youtu.be/6ycjDUIVT9Q?si=qQatUPpcFKCDpRgq
Front Cam – Airport to Acworth – https://youtu.be/TFxeATcEnsg?si=AfiqJXin26WPaYj4
Link to Fox5 Article about Pvt. Cole: CLICK HERE
