Gary Terrence ColemanPrivate First ClassB CO, 1ST BN, 12TH INFANTRY, 4 INF DIV Army of the United States 23 October 1944 - 12 July 1967 Alameda, California Panel 23E Line 056 |
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The database page for Gary Terrence Coleman
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Gary was known as "Cactus Jack" by those on his track team in high school. He was married and was a member of the Church of Christ. He started his tour on 5/9/1967 and was killed on 7/12/1967 in Pleiku Province. He is listed as "hostile, died while missing, ground casualty, gun, small arms, body recovered". Panel 23E, Line 56.
From a high school classmate, |
A Note from The Virtual WallThe statistics given above by Mr. Choate tell the barest minimum about the circumstances of PFC Coleman's death.The Ia Drang Valley area, now known to most Americans as a result of the book and movie "We Were Soldiers Once - And Young", was one of several river valleys west of the Central Highlands in Pleiku Province. The area formed part of the South Vietnam-Cambodian border and had been a traditional avenue of infiltration for the North Vietnamese Army. Operation FRANCES MARION (April-October 1967) involved a series of search and destroy operations in the border area intended to locate and destroy NVA infrastructure - and if possible the NVA units themselves. On 12 July 1967, the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry, was engaged in the Ia Drang Valley 12 kilometers south of Duc Co by a battalion or larger force from the 66th NVA Regiment. When engaged, the 1/12's three rifle companies were physically separated, allowing the enemy force to attack the companies individually - B Company and C Company were isolated and taken under attack. Although C Company suffered only minor losses (5 wounded and none killed), B Company took heavy losses.
The Virtual Wall's 1/12 Infantry Memorial |
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The point-of-contact for this memorial is a high school classmate, Norm Choate norm@mysite.com |
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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 25 Jun 2007
Last updated 11/12/2007