On a wall at Allie Cone II I ‘s , C. C. Marine , shop, which repairs boats and sells bait, he displays his grandfather’s bullet-punctured military helmet and news clippings detailing , Allie Cone Sr .’s heroism.
It’s his way of honoring the gentleman who enlisted to serve in World War I less than a week after the , U. S.  , joined the world fight that began 110 years ago. Cone Sr. then had the dubious distinction of being the first , U. S.  , commander injured in war, which, according to the , Library of Congress , site, totaled 320, 000 American incidents and 204, 000 wounded.
Cone III, 65, said,” He was just one of those people who always wanted to do what was right.” ” My home is extremely happy of him,” he said.
The Rings are one of Tampa’s pioneer communities, with , Louis Cone , moving it around the day it was incorporated as a town in 1887. Home businesses included a roundel, market, real estate, task and a interment ground that had later , became part of the , European Club Cemetery.
Allie L. Cone Sr. was born in , Plant City  , in 1888 and played sport for the , East Florida Seminary, which was later absorbed into the , University of Florida. After graduating, he relocated to , Cuba , to function as a legal expert.
World War I began on , July 28, 1914, and immediately pitted the Allied Powers of , Russia,  , France,  , Japan , and , England , against the Central Powers of , Germany  , and , Austria-Hungary.
The United States , joined the Allied Powers on , April 6, 1917.
” There was a lot of loyalty for the work in Tampa”, said , Rodney Kite-Powell , of the , Tampa Bay History Center. ” A lot of young men, some from important people like the Cones, went off to battle”.
Allie Cone Sr. was in , Havana , at that time” and had a beneficial job”, according to one of the magazine articles on show at C. C. Marine. But” two days after he read … that his land was at war, he had his plunder packed … four days later he was on his approach to , New York , to give his service”.
But he was first considered too small at 5 feet, 5 inches tall.
” He had to stretch himself to make the necessary height”, the magazine article reported. He “made it” and was the first person to join the newly formed Eleventh Engineers, a fresh unit, as a result of the American War Act. He went in as a private, throwing up a$ 300 a month job to accept one at$ 30″.
In , July 1917, according to the content, the Eleventh Professionals were shipped to , France , to support the British troops. By therefore, Cone Sr. had risen to second commander.
Cone Sr. was injured on , Nov. 30, 1917, during the Battle of Cambrai while assisting the British troops in repelling attacking Germans.
One article reads,” Florida child is second officer to be wounded”. Another says he was the first person with a , Cuba , link to be injured in the battle.
Another article states that a number of British specialists flung themselves up on the astounded army and held that series when the Germans burst through the English line with picks and spades and any arms they may get. No one has ever been able to verify that Lieutenant Cone was in charge of a squad of engineers, who were supposed to be a non-combative portion of the American army, despite the fact that no one from the Germans, either French or British, has ever been able to confirm that claim.
Cone Sr. is regarded as the most heroic American, but other articles make vague claims.
One article states that “he himself was largely responsible for bringing the squad through safety.”
Cone III claimed he was informed that his grandfather had carried American wounded before being shot.
His forehead was grazed by a bullet that travelled through one side of the helmet’s front. His lack of height, once a detriment, saved him.
” The shortest man in the regiment… if he had been an inch taller, it would have finished him”, reported one newspaper. ” While he was going back to the dressing station, his only comment was,’ Get that tin hat, I want to keep it.'”
While in a French hospital, Cone Sr. was promoted to captain. Once recovered, he was assigned to the newly organized tank corps, an article reported. The Germans “admit the tanks paralyzed their offenses and made their defenses mostly untenable,” calling themselves famous for including all the brave soldiers of the army.
After the war ended in 1918, Cone Sr. returned to , Havana , but later relocated to , Gainesville , to run a hardware store, according to his obituary in 1955. He died at 67.
Three years later, Cone III was born. Though they never met, he said, his grandmother often spoke of his grandfather.
” He means a lot to me”, Cone III said. ” He was a hero”.
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