DIRECTORS & OFFICERS
VALOR REMEMBERED FOUNDATION
James Cole, former US Army, Special Forces NCO
Director
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Texas Legislative Medal of Honor Ceremony. Picture above. James B. Cole, Benavidez Memorial Advisory Group member and Special Forces veteran of SOG operations during the Vietnam War talks with Kathy Meuller, daughter of Lloyd Mousseau, killed in action in the action for which Roy Benavidez was awarded the Medal of Honor. MABS photo. |
James B. Cole. James Cole grew up a poor farm boy near Fort Bragg, N.C. thinking all he ever wanted to be was a soldier. Seven of his uncles had served in World War II and he dropped out of high school to volunteer for the US Army during the Vietnam War. He became a member of the Special Forces and served on top-secret missions in Southeast Asia.
After leaving the Army Cole purchased a small machine shop in 1976 and built it into Noshok, Inc., a $14 million company that assembles gauges for industrial applications that are marketed worldwide with manufacturing facilities located in Berea, Ohio and Guadalajara, Mexico.
Jim Cole was honored with the prestigious Ernst and Young “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” in 2002.
James Cole’s commitment to preserving the legacy of American valor is self evident in the several works and associations listed below:
Christian Girard Memorial. He has created in his corporate offices a workplace that celebrates the legacy of one great American hero, Christian G. Girard who was killed on a secret mission in Cambodia on April 8, 1969. A large hall in Noshok’s corporate offices is a museum like Hall of Honor displaying Girard’s medals including three silver stars and five bronze stars, framed condolence letters, and other effects passed on to Cole by Girard’s mother.
Memorial Chapel, Ft. Bragg. Cole recently funded the construction of a memorial chapel on the base at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.
Roy Benavidez. Cole is a great admirer of the late Roy Benavidez, Medal of Honor recipient. He read all of Roy’s published works and was instrumental in bringing him to speak at the Special Association Reunion in Cleveland, Ohio. He was a member of the Roy Benavidez Memorial Advisory group, which eventually became the Valor Remembered Foundation. In 2001 he traveled to Austin, Texas to attend the ceremony in which the Texas legislature conferred posthumously the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor on Roy Benavidez.
Special Operations Association. He is a past president of the Special Operations Association.