William Carey Cole William Carey Cole ( 23 August 1868 – 28 May 1935 ) was an admiral of the United States Navy during the early 20th century . Biography . Cole was born in Chicago , Illinois , on 23 August 1868 . He was appointed a naval cadet on 5 September 1885 and graduated from the United States Naval Academy on 7 June 1889 . At the end of the two years of service at sea then required by law — in USS " Iroquois " and — Cole received his commission as an ensign on 1 July 1891 . After further sea service in " Nipsic " , Cole headed the branch hydrographic office in Cleveland , Ohio , from 23 October 1894 to 10 September 1896 before he went first to the cruiser " Raleigh " and later to dispatch boat " USS Dolphin " . After a stint in the hydrographic office in Washington , D . C . , and a brief tour at the Washington Navy Yard , Cole reported once more to " Dolphin " and , while in that ship , took part in the Spanish - American War off Santiago , Cuba . Subsequently serving at the Washington Navy Yard and commanding , in succession , tugboat " Tecumseh " and yacht " Sylph " , Cole went to the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co . in the summer of 1905 to familiarize himself with the work of a naval inspector of equipment before assuming that office in the General Electric Co . , of Schenectady , New York , and later in the New York Shipbuilding Co . , Camden , New Jersey . On 18 April 1907 , Cole — by then a lieutenant commander — became the navigator of the new battleship " Kansas " when she was first commissioned . He subsequently became her executive officer before reporting to the Naval Academy . Promoted to commander on 20 October 1910 , Cole subsequently assumed simultaneous command of all of the ships at the Naval Academy , including the steam sloop and the cruiser . Cole next went to the Asiatic Station and reported for duty at Olongapo , Philippine Islands , on 10 March . There , he assumed command of the monitor s " Monadnock " and " Monterey " ( in first reserve ) but was detached from that duty on 4 December . He took command of the gunboat " Helena " two days after Christmas of 1913 and assumed the concurrent duties of Senior Officer , Yangtze Valley . Detached in the spring of 1915 , Cole attended the long course at the Naval War College , Newport , R . I . , and then became Inspector of Engineering Material in the Boston District . On 10 April 1917 , shortly after the United States entered World War I , Cole took command of the armored cruiser " Frederick " ( Armored Cruiser No . 8 ) and remained in that warship until 23 September when he was given command of " Nevada " ( Battleship No . 36 ) . For " exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility " commanding " Nevada " during World War I , Cole received the Navy Cross . After leaving " Nevada " on 7 May 1919 , Cole served in London as assistant attaché before he went to Washington , D . C . , where he became , in time , the Assistant Chief of Naval Operations , remaining in that duty into 1922 . Attaining flag rank on 28 January 1922 , he was detached from his Assistant CNO duties on 10 March and went to the Panama Canal Zone where he became Commander , Special Service Squadron — a naval force colloquially known as the " Banana Fleet " — on 29 April 1922 , hoisting his two - starred flag in the cruiser " Birmingham " ( CL - 2 ) . In the spring of 1923 , Cole fleeted up to duty as chief of staff to the Commander in Chief , United States Fleet and remained in that billet for two years before he became Commandant of the Norfolk Navy Yard in the autumn of 1926 . Subsequently serving as Commander , Battleship Division 4 from 11 July 1928 to 21 May 1929 and as Commander , Scouting Fleet — with the rank of vice admiral — from 21 June 1929 to 14 June 1930 , Cole became Commandant of the 12th Naval District in the summer of 1930 . Relieved on 1 June 1932 , he briefly served as Inspector of Petroleum Reserves from 28 June to 6 August 1932 , before he was retired on 1 September 1932 . Cole died at the Naval Hospital , Mare Island Navy Yard , Vallejo , California , on 28 May 1935 . Namesake . In 1943 , the destroyer escort USS " William C . Cole " ( DE - 641 ) was named in honor of Adm . Cole , sponsored by his widow , Mrs . William C . Cole .