EAC Troy R. Cole Sr., USN (Retired) was born in 1926 in Yucaipa, San Bernardino County, California. He attended Yucaipa and Redlands schools, joining the United States Navy in 1943 immediately following high school. He served in World War II and the Korean War in the surface navy as a quartermaster and transferred to the navy Seabees after the Korean War. Then served in the Vietnam War as a Seabee.

After over twenty years in the navy, serving in a variety of overseas duty stations, Cole retired from the navy as an Engineering Aide Chief. He has worked as a surveyor and served as executive director for the Orange County, California, Bowling Association.

He currently lives in Cedar Park, Texas.