[3][2] Many of his classmates became general officers later: Conrad S. Babcock, Lytle Brown, Edwin D. Bricker, Henry W. Butner, Fox Conner, Malin Craig, Robert C. Davis, Berkeley Enochs, Amos Fries, James B. Gowen, Guy Henry, Manus MacCloskey, Thomas E. Merrill, George A. Nugent, Marcellus G. Spinks, John E. Stephens, David L. Stone or William P.

[2] By the end of September 1917, Cole returned to the United States and joined the Office of the Adjutant-General under Major General Henry P. McCain.

[2] Cole spent several months with intensive training at Camp Meade, Maryland, and finally embarked with his regiment for France in June 1918.

As Commanding Officer of the 351st Field Artillery, 92d Division, from November 1917 to August 1918, by his rare judgment and exceptional ability, General Cole organized and trained his regiment to a high standard of efficiency under the most adverse circumstances.

As commanding General of Camp Jackson, South Carolina, from January 1919 to April 1919, he rendered most valuable and distinguished service in the demobilization of great numbers of troops and immense quantities of material.

[5]Cole was reverted to the peacetime rank of lieutenant colonel in April 1919 and ordered back to Washington, D.C., where he joined the Office of the Adjutant-General under Major General Peter C. Harris.

He then assumed command of 1st Coast Artillery District with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, and was responsible for the coastal defense of harbors and operationally significant maritime areas of the North Atlantic seaboard.

This area included: Harbor Defenses of Boston, Long Island Sound, Narragansett Bay, New Bedford, Portland, and Portsmouth.

He was relieved by Brigadier General Robert S. Abernethy by the beginning of October 1932 and was appointed commanding officer of the 2nd Coast Artillery District in New York City.

[2] He was responsible for the coastal defense of harbors and operationally significant maritime areas of New York, New Jersey, and Delaware and was promoted to major general on December 1, 1935.

He was recalled to active duty following the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and was attached to the War Department Personnel Board, a body responsible for selecting individuals who were to receive direct commissions in the Army.

He served as a member of this board under his West Point classmate and former chief of staff, General Malin Craig, until September 5, 1944, when he retired for a second time, completing almost 44 years of service.

[2] Following his second retirement, Cole was active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and died following a long illness on May 18, 1953, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.