Upon enlisting in the Marines, Darrell Cole was dismayed to be appointed as a field musician. After serving on Guadalcanal, Tinian and Saipan, his request to be changed to machine-gunner was granted. On 19 Feb 1945, when his machine-gun jammed in the assault on Iwo Jima, Sgt Cole picked up a pistol and a grenade, launching a one-man attack against two enemy emplacements that were firing on his unit, circling back for more grenades until they were destroyed. After returning to his squad, the former bugler was killed by a hostile grenade.