Private Coleman recovered from his illness and completed basic training on April 29, 1929. From Fort Slocum he went to Brooklyn Army Base and boarded the US Army Transport Ship Cambria. The ship steamed down the East Coast and through the Caribbean to the Panama Canal. Coleman was seasick most of the voyage, but recovered by the time the ship reached the Canal. He went ashore briefly in the Canal Zone; his first time out of the country. Here he got his fill of bananas; a 30 pound stock of bananas sold for 25 cents.

From Panama, the Cambria continued up the Pacific to San Francisco and made port at Fort Mason in San Francisco Bay. He was temporarily assigned to Fort McDowell on Angel Island, Coleman took shots for overseas duty and then sailed for Hawaii on May 5, 1929.

Private Coleman arrived in Honolulu on May 9, 1929. After in processing, he was assigned to casual duty which included cutting grass or kitchen police (KP) with the 74^th Ordnance Company. The company commander at the time was Captain Grosvener Watkins, who would later invent the 22-caliber "Hornet" rifle cartridge. Private Coleman spent the next three months walking guard duty around the base perimeter. Later he was detached to Fort Kamehameha for duty with the ammunition storage unit.

At that time, most coastal areas of the United States (and Hawaii) were defended by the Coastal Artillery. Generally, these were naval guns that had been mounted inside of fortifications around harbor areas. Caliber varied from 12 to 15 inches. Many were mounted on "disappearing mounts." When ready to fire, the gun was raised above the casement and fired. The recoil forced the scissors mount to fold down thus hiding the gun from view.

Private Coleman worked inspecting the stored ammunition. The particular type of gun propellant was referred to as "Explosive D," which was very sensitive to high temperature. The ammunition detail was considered a high-risk detail and therefore was on a six-month rotation basis.

After his tour with the ammunition detail, Coleman was assigned to Hawaii Ordinance Depot about two miles from Honolulu. Private’s pay in 1929 was $21.00 per month. All he could afford to do was walk the two miles into Honolulu on Friday night or Saturday and work out at the YMCA gymnasium. His two mile walk took him passed a sugar cane field that would later be known as Hickum Army Air Corps base. After all of the sights were seen, a quart of Akoolehu Rum was 25 cents.

In an effort to find some more productive past time, Private Coleman began training for the welterweight boxing contest for the inter-island boxing championship. Collateral benefits included being excused from walking guard duty while in training, plus the contenders were fed better than the regular troops. Private Coleman boxed his way up to the final elimination bout with a Corporal Karen. About halfway through the match, the fight was stopped with a Technical Knock Out (TKO) against Coleman. He had suffered a broken nose, three broken ribs and a broken left wrist. His boxing career ended while he recovered from his injuries. He fought the good fight; it was the only time Corporal Karen had ever been knocked down. After his recovery, Private Coleman returned to regular duty with the 74^th Ordnance Company.

During his Hawaiian tour, Coleman befriended a sailor from the Coast Guard Cutter Itasca as a drinking buddy. The Itasca was prominent in the search for Emelia Earhart, the famous woman aviator who disappeared in the Pacific 1937. He also befriended a Japanese sailor from a visiting Japanese Navy training ship the Nippon Maru, who claimed that his father was an admiral in the Japanese Navy. They corresponded for a few years. His name was Yamamoto.

Coleman wanted to return to northwest Colorado where his grandparents lived. However, this was at the depth of the Great Depression; Coleman with no saleable civilian skills and with a motorcycle habit to support could not find employment, so he reenlisted for three years. He had a 90-day leave as a reenlistment bonus, so he rode his motorcycle to Colorado to visit his grandparents and then returned to Fort Benning, Georgia. He was 18 years old, still a private and still making $21.00 per month.

SECOND ENLISTMENT 1933-1935

Coleman wanted to get reassigned to Fort Douglas, Utah, which was closer to where his grandparents lived. At that time transfers in the Army were very rare; usually someone had to die in order to create a vacancy. One of Coleman’s sergeants suggested that one trick that worked for getting reassigned was to go AWOL (absent without leave); as long as you came back before 30 days were up, you wouldn’t be considered a deserter and if you turned yourself in at another Army post, you usually were allowed to stay there.

So, Private Coleman and another soldier friend hitchhiked from Columbus, Georgia to his friend’s home in Tennessee. After visiting there for a few days they hitchhiked on towards Louisville, Kentucky. Along the way a man who had a remarkable resemblance to the gangster called Dutch Schultz picked them up. In any event he was driving a 1932 Chrysler Imperial Model 80. He apparently drove at one of two speeds; stop or wide open. He was well dressed and was accompanied by a very attractive young blond lady. Later while weighting their car ride, they decided that it might be safer to hitch a ride on a freight train. While waiting around the freight yards for a west bound train, the train boss or "brakie" found them and warned them not to get on his train. Of course they ignored him and climbed on the first westbound train that came by. While on a tank car Coleman became separated from his friend. While hanging on the railing of the tank car with both hands, the train boss came around the end of the car and proceeded punching Coleman in the face as hard as he could. If he let go he would fall off the moving train; eventually he was going to be beat into unconsciousness and fall off anyway. So while hanging on for his life with one hand, he started punching the boss in the face with his other fist. Having had some previous experience with fist fighting, he began to gain the upper hand and the boss finally stopped and told him to get in a boxcar and stay out of sight. He stopped in New Castle, Colorado to see his grandparents and then rode the rails on to Salt Lake City, Utah and Fort Douglas. He didn’t see his friend again. Apparently he did not return to the Army within 30 days and was declared a deserter for which he served a year in prison and was discharged.

Coleman decided it would be funny to send his commanding officer in Fort Benning a postcard on his way to Fort Douglas; it read, "Having fun, wish you were here!" Coleman turned himself in at Fort Douglas within the 30 days and expected to be retained at Fort Douglas. Much to his surprise there was a message from his commander at Fort Benning; which read "Having fun, want you here!" A more literal translation was something to the effect of "send that SOB back!" Normally the returned soldier had to pay his own way plus the round trip train fare of his guard. Coleman’s commander told him he would take his word that he would return himself without a guard, which he did.

Back at Fort Benning, Coleman was sentenced to 72 days in the stockade for being absent with out leave (AWOL). While in the stockade, another inmate attacked him and both were given 14 days in solitary confinement on bread and water. After he was released, he returned to the 72^nd Ordnance Company at Fort Benning and resumed his duties there.

About this time Coleman began to take stock of his life and realized that he had to do something to improve it. He was 20 years old, had been in the Army for six years and was still a private with a sixth grade education. Rather than going to town every night and drinking, he remained on post and went to the company library and studied various technical manuals there. In 1935 he was accepted into the Army Motor Maintenance course at Fort Benning from which he graduated and was awarded a specialist MOS (Military Occupation Specialty Code).

THIRD ENLISTMENT 1935-1938

Coleman finished his second enlistment at Fort Benning and was discharged in April 1935 after making up for his lost time in the stockade. He proceeded to Fort Douglas, Utah by motorcycle and re-enlisted there. He was assigned to the 38^th Infantry Regiment and initially assigned duties as a muleskinner. He drove a wagon and mule team around the fort on service duties and was later assigned as a truck driver and mechanic.

In 1936 Boulder Dam (Now called Hoover Dam) in Nevada was commissioned. The 38^th Infantry provided security and support for the occasion. Coleman rode motorcycle patrol in the area and saw President Franklin Roosevelt and exchanged salutes when he attended the commissioning of the dam.

After a winter in Utah, Coleman reevaluated his assignment and requested reassignment back to Fort Benning, Georgia. Reassignment was approved to the 67^th Infantry Regiment (Medium Tanks) and he drove a 1928 Durrant Roadster automobile back to Fort Benning. In route he picked up a woman hitchhiker accompanied by 12 children. They had no transport or money so he carried them to Fort Worth, Texas where the woman had friends. The Great Depression was still in full force and such situations were not uncommon.

Upon arrival at Fort Benning, Private Coleman had parked in the company parking lot. His Durrant had a loud exhaust system, which attracted the attention of a  man in civilian clothes when he pulled into the parking lot. The man suggested that his muffler was a little loud, to which Coleman replied that he didn’t see what business it was of his! The man turned and walked inside the barracks. Coleman got settled in and later reported to the company first sergeant. The first sergeant was none other than the man in the parking lot. The first sergeant advised Coleman that he was going to find out "what business it was to him" before he ever saw daylight again! Coleman was assigned to the timber detail. He cut timber with a hand axe for the next two months. He deforested the area that today is known as Lawson Army Air Field at Fort Benning.

After the timber detail, Coleman was detailed as a crew member to assist in a test program on a new tank the Army was considering. The Christie Tank had been offered for evaluation to the Army and the trials were conducted at Fort Benning in late 1936. The test model was the Christie T-1 or T-34 for the design year and was called the Tornado. A 12-cylinder aircraft engine rated at 340-horse power powered the Christie; the same engine used in Curtiss Hawk pursuit biplanes. The Christie had a convertible function, which allowed it to travel on tracks or road wheels. It had a speed of 35 mph on tracks and 70 mph on road wheels. The conversion process was time consuming and in that speed was not considered important in the tactical thinking of that time, weighed against the tank’s evaluation. Ultimately, the Army rejected the Christie design and went with slower tanks. Christie had been successful in selling the design to the Soviet Union (Russia). Many Christie T-1 features were incorporated into the famous Russian T-34 tank of World War Two. The Tornado is still in existence today. It resides in the Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland.

Coleman decided that his future lay with the ordnance field and requested transfer to the 17^th Ordinance Heavy Maintenance Company at Fort Benning in November 1936. Here he worked his way around the shops broadening his experience in machine work, welding, electricity, and radial engine mechanics. The proto-type tanks at this time were powered by seven or nine cylinder radial aircraft engines, which were air-cooled. His new beginning in ordnance almost ended before it started. One day in the shop the civilian foreman ordered Coleman to repair the fuel tank on a tank recovery wrecker vehicle. He insisted that he drill a hole in the fuel tank with an electric drill then catch the fuel in a bucket as it drained out. Coleman protested that the procedure was unsafe. The foreman ordered him to proceed. When the drill bit penetrated the tank the drill sped up and the motor arced and ignited the fuel draining on to it. Coleman had anticipated a fire and had a shovel and sand near by. As he was shoveling sand on the fire, another soldier ran up behind him with a water hose and sprayed the fire with water. The entire vehicle was rapidly engulfed in fire and was virtually destroyed. The fire was so hot that the frame of the truck bent and sagged to the ground. When the fire detail arrived, their fire extinguisher failed to work and the vehicle was totally engulfed in flames.

At the ensuing board of inquiry, the shop foreman tried to blame Coleman for the fire and it appeared that he would succeed. As fate would have it, the board officer was a colonel that Coleman had once been a driver for and he was thus able to tell his side of the story. He was exonerated of any blame but the shop foreman and other personnel were not. Coleman’s insight into safety and procedure began to bring him to the attention of ordnance management officers. He was promoted to corporal in 1938 and participated in a testing program for the new M-1 Garand rifle that was being tested by the Army. He contributed several recommendations, some of which were later incorporated into the production M-1s. It was about this time that Coleman met and began courting his future bride, Eunice D. Lynn.

FOURTH ENLISTMENT 1938-1941

Coleman re-enlisted for the fourth time and applied for the ordnance NCO (non-commissioned officer) school at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland. If he were successful he would be promoted to staff sergeant. While he was waiting for orders to Aberdeen, the Army issued a request for volunteers to form the first parachute company (airborne) as a test unit to determine organization and tactics. Coleman volunteered and was placed on the waiting list for orders to attend parachute training. In the meantime, his orders for Ordnance NCO came through and he proceeded to Aberdeen. His class date was delayed and he was assigned temporarily to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for three months before starting the NCO class at Aberdeen. He had reenlisted again and was able to plan on getting married in that Army pay had finally started to increase from the days of the Great Depression and with the threat of war in Europe. He was now making $43.20 per month as a corporal and married Eunice in February 1940.

Shortly after he was married, Coleman departed for the 1940 Army Maneuvers in Louisiana. He operated a mobile maintenance unit for ordnance. In the process of doing his duty, he managed to collect surplus Indian motorcycle parts and eventually was able to assemble a 1939 model Indian Chief. His total investment was $1.10 for a can of paint. This was his last motorcycle, which he rode to various assignments around the country. When he went overseas in 1941, he left it in the garage of the home where his bride was living. In order to make room in the garage she sold it for $75.00. (It was a $300.00 value in 1940 dollars). There must have been some hidden message there for him!

Coleman arrived in Aberdeen in July 1940 and completed the NCO course in October 1940. He had performed so well that he was retained at Aberdeen as a course instructor in tank electrical systems. He was promoted from corporal to staff sergeant (skipping rank of sergeant) and then to technical sergeant as an instructor at Aberdeen. It was here that Coleman came to the attention of Captain Joseph Colby who had been the maintenance officer back at Fort Benning. Colby had been selected to participate in a secret mission to North Africa to assist the British Army, who was fighting the Germans under Field Marshall Rommel, in using American made tanks and related equipment. He remembered Coleman and asked him if he wanted to volunteer for the job. He did. He departed for Africa on May 29, 1941.

Enroute to Africa, Technical Sergeant Coleman was joined by other personnel and proceeded to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. for intelligence briefings and administrative out-processing. The mission was a classified project at the time because the United States was ostensibly a "neutral" country even though it was an open secret that the United States was aiding the British Empire by way of the Lent-Lease Program. This program authorized the sale of war materials to Great Britain in return for basing concessions from Britain to the United States. The groups proceeded from Washington D. C. to San Francisco, California. Due to the German U-boat threat in the Atlantic, it was considered less risky to cross the "peaceful" areas of the Pacific Ocean enroute to Africa.

In San Francisco, the group was consolidated with others and the detachment boarded the ship Matsona and sailed to Hawaii. They stayed there for a few days and then boarded a Pan-American Clipper seaplane and proceeded on across the Pacific with stops at Midway Island, Wake Island, Guam and the Philippines. Between Midway Island and Wake Island, Sergeant Coleman’s enlistment was up. Captain Colby had arranged the paper work in advance and Coleman was reenlisted in flight over the Pacific on board the Pan American Clipper.

FIFTH ENLISTMENT 1941-1942

From the Philippines the flight continued to Singapore where the detachment remained for two weeks awaiting additional orders to proceed. They transferred to a British Overseas Airways Short-Sunderland flying boat and continued on by way of Rangoon, Burma and Calcutta, India. The flight continued from India over barren mountains and deserts to a lake in Persia (modern Iran). Coleman was wondering where they were going to land a seaplane in the middle of the desert? Suddenly, a crystal clear blue lake appeared and the seaplane touched down. From there they flew on by way of Baghdad, Iraq; the Dead Sea in Palestine (modern Israel) and on to Egypt, landing in the Nile River near Cairo. The detachment collected its equipment and was transported overland to Cairo, Egypt, arriving there on July 5, 1941.

The North African Campaign or the War in the Desert began in 1940 with the Italians and British attacking each other’s colonial possessions in Africa. The Italians occupied Tunisia, Libya, Eritrea, and parts of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). The British occupied Egypt, Sudan, and Palistine. (As well as several other areas.) The combatants launched air raids and small unit raids on each other with no definitive gains on either side.

Finally in August 1940, the Italian leader Benito Mussolini orders Italian forces to invade Egypt. By September 1940, the Italians had advanced about 60 miles into Egypt and then stopped and dug into fortified positions. Now the British under General Wavell counter attacked and drove the Italians back into Libya. By January 1941, the British had pushed the Italians westward 200 miles and were laying siege to the port fortress of Tobruk, Libya. In December 1940, Mussolini had requested aid from Hitler in order to save the Italian Empire in Africa. In January 1941, Hitler authorized the deployment of the Afrika Korps to Africa.

In the East Coast area of Africa, the British invaded Italian Eritrea and seized control of it. In the north the Italians surrendered Tobruk and fell back in late January 1941. By February 1941, the British pushed westward and captured Benghazi, Libya. Hitler appointed General Edwin Rommel to command German forces in Africa. After building up his supplies, Rommel began a limited counter offense against the British in March 1941. He met with unexpected success and pushed his initiative forcing the British eastward and recapturing Benghazi and laying siege to Tobruk in April 1941. In June 1941, the British counter attacked again but were unsuccessful and fell back to Egypt.

Sergeant Coleman’s group was quartered at Abasseya Barracks, a British base near Cairo. The detachment was split up and deployed among various British units along the eastern desert front. The British Eight Army was preparing for another counter-offense against the German Afrika Korps and had begun to receive American tanks in the form of M-3 light models.

Sergeant Coleman was detached to the 8^th Hussars (cavalry who had traded their horses for tanks) of the Seventh Division. Upon his arrival there, the British received him and his crew with open arms and got them settled in quickly. Sergeant Coleman was provided with personal transportation in the form of a Rolls Royce pickup truck. Actually, it had previously been a Rolls Royce armored car equipped with a Maxim machine gun. The armored body had been removed and replaced with a flat bed for utility work after it’s former owner, T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) had gone home to England.

After about a month, the detachment was relocated to the British base at Tel Al Kabir where an operating and maintenance school was established for the British tank crews. Here Coleman traded in his Rolls Royce pickup truck for a German VW Kubelwagen, which was better suited to his transportation needs.

While at Tel Al Kabir, Coleman was visiting a British tank company and was conversing with one of the officers when he noticed a British private cleaning a machine gun, which was pointed directly at himself and the officer. The soldier finished cleaning the machine gun and loaded a belt of ammunition into it. Coleman stepped back behind a nearby tank and was calling the officer to follow him when the machine gun opened fire. Once the bullets stopped flying, the officer counted 20 some odd bullet holes in the inseams of his baggie pants, but he was not wounded. Had Coleman not moved when he did, the machine gun fire would have taken off both of his legs. (Rumor has it that the British private will be eligible for parole in 2005.)

Coleman went to a new base near the Great Pyramids where the M-3 light tanks were given a final tune up before going into battle. For whatever the reason, there was a critical shortage of tools for the American tanks. In especially short supply was a wrench to adjust the tracks before battle. The British had tried to have several cast from local metals, but they proved worthless. Coleman went into Cairo and scrounged the back street shops until he found an American wrench that would work on the tracks. He was in high demand and went from unit to unit adjusting the tank tracks before battle. Eventually, the tool supplies caught up to the British and the problem passed on.

Next Coleman returned to Tel Al Kabir to help setup a training school for the M-3 Medium tanks that were arriving now. After the school was operating, Coleman returned to the 8^th Hussars and accompanied a British battlefield maintenance and recovery unit forward for the next offensive. During this forward movement, the column came under frequent air attacks by German and Italian aircraft. It was the standard operating procedure (SOP) to stop the vehicles when under air attack and for all personnel to evacuate the vehicle and lie prone on the ground in order to avoid being trapped in the vehicle if it exploded. There was an unspoken gentlemen’s agreement to strafe the vehicles and leave the personnel to fend for themselves. Enroute a German Messerschmitt ME-109 came out of the sun and attacked the column. The vehicles stopped and the personnel jumped out on the ground. For some reason the Germans were not playing by the rules that day. The fighter made a run down the column of vehicles with machine guns blazing. Several trucks caught on fire. Then the plane made a turn about and made a strafing run down the column of men lying on the ground.

The bullet struck Sergeant Coleman in the right fore arm. It lifted him two feet off of the ground and covered him in dust and sand. Apparently it was a tracer bullet and cauterized the wound as it went through his arm. The bullet missed the bone in his arm by a fraction of an inch. He put chewing gum over the entry and exit wounds to keep the dust and sand out. There was little bleeding. When he had a chance he checked in with a British aid station and had the wound bandaged. By American standards Coleman was due a Purple Heart Medal, but no administrative mechanism existed to cover an American soldier wounded while serving with the British Army prior to December 1941 and America's entry into the war.  The sensitive nature of his assignment also precluded any acknowledgement.

While on the march in the desert, the detachment men were issued foldout cots to sleep on. They needed to be off of the ground in order to avoid scorpions and snakes. The technique was to dig a slip trench big enough to put the cot in and sleep below ground level. At night the Italian Air Force would mount nuisance air raids using their three engine Carproni bombers. The engines were intentionally left out of synchronization in order to produce the most annoying sound possible. To add to the irritation, they would drop small general-purpose bombs that did little damage unless they scored a direct hit.

Late in the day while moving forward, a German Panzer III tank was seen skirting the column's movements. It was probably trying to lure tanks to come out into an artillery trap. The Germans used the lethal 88mm anti-aircraft gun in a flat trajectory as a tank killer. They would nearly always set up a pre-ranged killing zone and then try to lure British vehicles into the range of the 88s. Not knowing this, the Americans sent Sergeant Coleman after the Panzer in an M-3 light tank. The M-3 was armed with a 37mm gun and the Panzer III was armed with a 50mm gun. Coleman took the position as the tank gunner and started firing on the move as they closed on the Panzer. After several rounds were exchanged between the tanks, Coleman’s M-3 scored a direct hit on the Panzer’s track and disabled it. The Germans escaped before the M-3 could reach the abandoned Panzer.

Early in the morning just as the sun was rising, a German Me-109 aircraft would fly out of the sun and bomb and strafe the column. It got to be so regular that it appeared to be the same aircraft and became know as the "Sunrise Special." Sergeant Coleman decided to try a new technique against the fighter plane; simply aim the tank’s main guns at the rising sun; and fire when you heard the motor of the ME-109. Another tank crew tried it and sure enough, scored a direct hit on the Sunrise Special. The German crashed nearby and was killed.

Sergeant Coleman’s maintenance crew was ordered forward to recover a disabled M-3 tank. It was repaired and the maintenance crew drove it back to the rear area. Just as they turned off a paved road, the tank struck a German anti-tank mine. The blast blew off the tank’s treads and disabled the tank. Coleman was standing inside the turret when the mine went off. The concussion compressed his knee joints and inflicted an injury that would pain him for the next 60 years until he had an artificial knee joint installed. The tank crew escaped with minor injures; they had been remarkably lucky. They returned to the rear area to rest and recover from their close call.

One of the diversions back at the base area was donkey racing. It became a serious business with large sums of money being bet on the most promising donkeys. The troops were paid in Egyptian Piastres; the exchange rate was such that thousands of piastres were traded for a British pound note. Hundreds of thousands of piastres changed hands on the whim of a donkey. The British sense of fair play prevailed and all riders were required to be totally intoxicated before entering the races.

In November 1941, the British counter-offensive, Operation Crusader, began. Despite initial reverses, the British forced the Germans and Italians back to Benghazi and relieved Tobruk. On the way to the front area, Sergeant Coleman encountered an Italian Colonel who had surrendered to the British and was being searched. Coleman relieved him of his Beretta pistol and a German Voighlander camera. The Italian spoke English and told Coleman that he had picked up the camera from the wreckage of a shot down German JU-52 transport plane carrying German soldiers. Coleman later had the film in the camera developed. The pictures in the camera indicated that the previous owner had probably seen combat in Greece and Crete before arriving in North Africa.

At about this time, substantial numbers of American M-3 Medium tanks, armed with 75-mm guns, were arriving in North Africa. As usual, they arrived with no spare parts and no instruction manuals.  Also, the initial issue of ammunition was semi-armor piercing practice rounds!  When they hit the German tanks, they left a colored paint splatter so the gunner could see where his practice round hit!  Unless the round splattered paint on the Panzer's periscopes, it did nothing to disable the tank. The early M-3s models also suffered from steering problems with the hydraulically boosted steering system. TSG Coleman was assigned to work this problem. The problem seemed to come from not having the correct mixture of hydraulic fluid and high-pressure nitrogen gas in the steering system. Due to a lack of technical publications, the crews had been guessing at the correct quantities of fluid and nitrogen. The results were frequent jamming of the steering system. TSG Coleman and a British tank crew were experimenting with the correct mixtures one day when they were test driving an M-3 Medium tank at high speed and the tank commander (British sergeant) called for a left turn. The tank driver pulled the steering stick hard left; nothing happened! He pulled again and harder, suddenly the tank made a 90-degree left turn and ran off the road. Before the driver could get the tank under control it ran into a nearby building at full speed and proceeded to gut the entire building from one end to the other. The tank was just coming through the far wall of the building when it stopped. Unfortunately, the building was a British "Naafi" or the equivalent of an American PX (Post Exchange). The tank flattened several tables and chairs as it went through the building. Amazingly, no one was run over! Major Colby, Coleman’s commanding officer, suggested that Coleman and he needed to get out of Africa for awhile and let the Naafi incident blow over. They went to Ahmadnagh, India to train the Indians on the M-3 Medium tanks they were receiving; Colby especially wanted Coleman since he was familiar with the steering peculiarities! They departed for India in November 1941.

They flew from Cairo, Egypt to Bombay, India in a DeHavaland Rapide bi-plane. They covered the 3000-mile flight in four days. From Bombay they went by railroad to the British base at Ahmadnagh. The British garrison had been assigned there since well before the war and was well established with the usual British creature comforts; including their wives and families. This was a welcome interlude for Coleman who had been in the desert for months. The mission to India concluded without incident and TSG Coleman and Major Colby returned to Egypt by rail and aircraft at the end of November.

TSG Coleman returned to the desert and was moving towards the front lines with the British in December 1941. He didn’t hear about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor until a week after the fact. The British were hard pressed to contain their glee about the United States finally being officially in the war. They had come to depend on the American advisors so much that they were openly concerned that they may lose them to American units. The United States was so unprepared to fight a world war at the time that it would be several months before American units would be operating on their own in North Africa.

Despite maneuvering by Rommel, the British continued to push the Germans and Italians westward. In January 1942, the British re-took Benghazi. Then suddenly and without higher authorization, Rommel counter-attacked and pushed the British back again. The Italian High Command, which Rommel was theoretically under, refused to allow Italian troops to participate in the new counter-offensive. Rommel pushed on without the Italians and re-took Benghazi in late January. Rommel continued for a short distance before his tanks ran out of fuel and then dug into defensive positions in front of the Gazala Line. Here the forces remained for several weeks refitting and restocking fuel and supplies.

In January 1942, Coleman was promoted to Master Sergeant and continued with the British operations in the desert. The routine remained generally unchanged; accompanying the British armored forces as they went into battle against the Germans and Italians; instructing them on American equipment and helping them to recover and repair damaged tanks. One British ritual that impressed Coleman was "Tea Time." Any time a British convoy stopped for any reason, except air attacks, the troops would have tea. They had a system that would shame an Indianapolis 500 Race pit crew. The moment they stopped one man would lay down a piece of sheet metal; the next would shovel sand on it; the next would pour gasoline on it; the next would light it and the next would have the tea pot ready to brew. They always had hot tea within five minutes.

During one expedition to the front, Coleman came across a German ammunition dump that had been abandoned but not destroyed for some reason.  There were thousands of rounds of German 75mm ammunition.  To Coleman it looked like British Five-Pounder cannon ammunition, but it was definitely German.  Coleman found that by machining .040 of an inch off of the rotator band on the German ammunition, it would fire in the British Five-Pounders.  He reported this to Colonel Gruver (later of Gruver amphibious tank fame) who reported it to the British who immediately collected and modified the ammunition.  The British were especially short on Five-Pounder ammunition at this time.  No doubt the Germans never appreciated the irony of being shot up with their own ammunition!

In spite of constant aerial attacks while in convoy, Coleman’s contingent had not lost anyone until about this time. A Sergeant Delmer Parks was killed when his truck came around a bend in the road and encountered a German armored scout car, which opened up with machine gun fire. In this same engagement, the British noticed that they were seeing American tanks with German markings on them and they were shooting at the British! Finally a disabled American M-3 was captured from the Germans. They were so short of armor that they were pressing anything that could be made to run into service. The M-3s were powered by radial aircraft engines and the British managed to get about 300 hours of operating time between overhauls. The captured American/German M-3 had 1300 hours since overhaul and was still in running condition. The Germans had no choice but to get the most out of their borrowed equipment.

The American M-3 light tanks with a 37mm gun were out-gunned by the German Panzer III with a 50mm gun. Typically tank to tank battles took place at 1000 to 1500 yards. When the American M-3 Medium tanks with the 75mm guns came into action they could generally defeat the Panzer if they could get a straight shot at them. It was discovered that a hit on the Panzer in the proper location with high explosive (HE) rounds rather than armor-priecing rounds, would sometime blow the Panzer's turret off, but these hits were not common.  The M-3 Medium did not have a turret for the gun, but rather it was pointed out the front of the tank in Sponson mount which only allow it to fire at 15 degree angles to left or right. Otherwise the tank itself had to maneuver in order to bring its gun to bear on the target. It didn’t take long for the Germans to recognize the short comings of the M-3 Medium. These problems were reported back to the home front and a new and improved design finally appeared in the form of the M-4 Medium tank. The M-4 had a fully traversing turret with the 75mm gun and thicker three-inch armor and a lower profile.

The early M-4s had their problems as well. The first nasty surprise was that the armor plate was riveted together. If the tank received a hit, even if it didn’t penetrate the armor, the force sheered off all of the rivet heads inside of the tank and sent them ricocheting around the inside of the tank, usually slaughtering the crew. There were cases of M-4s continuing to run and move with the crews dead. Coleman’s group set about correcting this by spot welding each and every rivet head inside of the M-4s. The Germans were quick to recognize the next problem as well. The turret was traversed by a hydraulic motor turning a small gear inside of a large ring gear at the base of the turret. The large ring gear was exposed on the outside. A hit by even a small caliber round on this exposed gear could jam the turret and prevent the gun from being brought to bear on the target without moving the tank (like the M-3 Mediums). The Germans started aiming specifically for this point on the M-4s. Once the turret was jammed it was easy to get behind the tank where the armor was thin and make short work of it. The M-4s also had a tendency to erupt in flames anytime they took a hit from behind into the engine compartment. These shortcomings were reported back to the US and corrections were incorporated into the newer models in the form of a fully cast armor hull and an armored shield around the turret ring. The tendency to catch on fire was never over come and gave rise to such nicknames as "Ronsons" (For the cigarette lighter of the time that was guaranteed to light every time) and "Canook Cookers" by their Canadian crews. The M-4s served as the main US tank for the duration of World War Two and beyond. Approximately 49,000 were manufactured.

Before going overseas, Coleman had taken and passed the examination for warrant officer. In March 1942, Master Sergeant Coleman received an appointment as a warrant officer; temporary then permanent Regular Army in part as recognition of his contributions to field modifications of the M-4 tank. He was now reassigned to the US Army maintenance base at Heliopolis (Sun City) near Cairo. He bade farewell to his British friends and reported in. At Heliopolis, Warrant Officer (WO) Coleman was assigned as the chief inspector on tanks being prepared to go into combat. There was still a spare parts shortage for the American equipment. One example was the failure of some ball bearing assembly. The old ones were thrown away and new ones requisitioned from supply; only problem was supply didn’t have any or know when they would get any! All available personnel were detailed to dig through the trash dump to recover the discarded bearings in hopes that some of them could be salvaged.

One great advantage in being at Heliopolis was not being shot at constantly; keeping more or less normal working hours and last but not least being able to go to town after work. Town in this case was Cairo. There were the British clubs and the indigenous establishments. Americans seemed to favor the local flavor more than the British system of entertainment. One day Coleman was exploring the streets of Cairo when he realized three Egyptians had followed him, one with a large knife. Just as the Egyptians surrounded him, nine Australians, who looked like they were seven feet tall, came out of an alley and soundly thrashed the Egyptians. They gave the knife to Coleman as a souvenir as they hollered "Hands across the sea yank!" and disappeared back into their alley. Coleman made it a point not to go alone after that.

While making an inspection trip with another soldier one-day, they were on a narrow road in the edge of Cairo. Coleman was driving an American Jeep with a top speed of about 60 miles per hour. Suddenly he noticed a column of Mercedes touring cars coming up behind him at a high rate of speed. They weren’t slowing down so he sped up, soon his Jeep was wide open and the Mercedes were gaining fast. The lead Mercedes was full of guards with machine guns and they were shaking their fists at Coleman and waving him over. With his Jeep wide open and starting to smoke he finally came to a road where he could turn off. The Egyptian King Farouk and his entourage roared by with the guards still shaking their fists at Coleman.

Beginning in May 1942, Rommel launched a series of attacks against the British on the Gazala Line and eventually broke through. He laid siege to Tobruk again, which surrendered in late June. As the German and Italian offensive continued, the British fell back to the Egyptian frontier. Rommel captured stocks of food and fuel from Torburk and was able to sustain his offensive. The British continued to fall back and sat up a defensive line at El Alamein in Egypt. By the end of June 1942, Rommel was before El Alamein, and Mussolini arrived in Libya to prepare for his triumphal entry into Cairo. The British prepared to stand at El Alamein at all costs. If they failed Egypt would be lost and the next defensive line would be the East Side of the Suez Canal. The first Battle of El Alamein continued through July with heavy losses on both sides; especially in tanks.

The rumor mill was working overtime in Cairo. Word on the street was that Cairo would fall and Rommel would take the Suez Canal within weeks. The British prepared to evacuate to Palestine if necessary. The American units were ordered to evacuate to Eritrea in the south. Warrant Officer Coleman and his group packed all of the special tools and technical manuals they could carry and flew south to Asmara, Eritrea, arriving there at the end of June 1942.

Eritrea had been an Italian colony, but the British had invaded and occupied it after defeating the Italians in a series of battles. The Eritrean people were a fearlessly proud and independent people. They had resisted Italian colonization, as had their neighbors the Ethiopians under Emperor Hallie Salassie. The Emperor’s famous mobilization decree was indicative of their determination. "All men will bring their spears; all women will bring their cooking utensils; everyone else will be hanged;" or words to that effect. However, both peoples learned the hard way that the spear was no match for the machine gun and eventually the mechanized Italians overwhelmed them. When Coleman arrived the Italian colonists were still in effect controlling the country under British supervision. Coleman’s group sat up shop in a former Italian Army depot. When the Italians surrendered to the British they disabled thousands of their vehicles by removing essential parts and hiding them, thus rendering the vehicle fleets useless to the British.

One day while setting up the shop area, Coleman was approached by an Italian named Alberto Finni who asked him for a job in the shop. Coleman advised him that he was the enemy and there wasn’t anything he could do for the Americans. Finni advised that he was the one who hid the essential parts from the Italian vehicles. After reconsidering the situation for about two seconds Finni was hired. He said that he also needed jobs for his family and friends; they were hired too. Finni and the other Italians took over running the vehicle shop under Coleman’s supervision. Suddenly the Americans were vehicle rich. They had everything from Italian light tanks, Moto-Guzzi motorcycles to Fiat automobiles. There was even a 1935 Isotta Fraschini touring car.

Another consequence of the British misfortunes in Egypt was that the Egyptian Piastres were now considered to be worthless. The troops had been paid in the Egyptian script. Now it was used to light cigars, supplement the toilet paper supply and for outrageous gambling bets. In some cases it was simply thrown away. Coleman collected it whenever possible and was lucky at cards also. By the time he left Eritrea, he had amassed the equivalent of one million dollars in Egyptian Piastres! Once it was realized that Rommel was not going to over run Egypt the money was suddenly good again. There were many long faces around the campfire that night; no one knew where to find all of the Egyptian money. Coleman knew; but he wasn't talking! The US Army limited the amount of cash you could send home to $2,000.00 worth, so Coleman prepared for a spending spree of heroic proportions.

With the Italians running the day-to-day operations of the shops, Coleman and the other Americans looked for diversions. These included gambling, learning Italian from the young Italian women who worked there and hunting. Everyone had amassed collections of Luger, Berretta and Mauser pistols and rifles. The countryside abounded with troupes of baboons, sometimes 40 to 50 in each group. Coleman and a couple of other Americans loaded into his Fiat car and drove to country to hunt baboons. On a hillside they spied a troupe and stopped and got out of the Fiat. One of them took aim and fired hitting a bull baboon. The baboons reacted in shockingly human fashion at the killing of one of their own. Someone took another shot at a large bull and missed. The bull stood up and roared at the shooters and charged down the hill towards them followed by 40 some odd enraged baboons. Mature baboons can weigh 200 pounds and have two-inch fangs, plus they have at least twice the strength of a man. Everyone ran for the Fiat and got inside just as the bull crashed against the side of car. Suddenly the Fiat was surrounded by raging baboons, jumping up and down on the car, roaring, urinating on it and shaking it as violently as they could. Naturally, the Fiat wouldn’t start now! It became an "Eritrean Standoff", the men were in the car and the baboons were all over it and there they sat in the 120-degree African temperatures. Finally, as siesta time approached, the baboons seemed to lose interest and the Fiat decided to start; everyone went home and baboon hunting was never mentioned again.

One other shooting legend was born in Eritrea. Again while driving in the countryside, Coleman and some other Americans saw a bunch of large vultures on the ground at great distance. Coleman bet a hundred thousand Egyptian Piastres that he could hit one of the vultures with a single shot from his Luger with a four-inch barrel! Seemed like sure money, the bet was on. Coleman aimed the Luger at about a 30-degree incline and fired. The flock of vultures took flight, except for one! The single shot had struck the vulture in the head at 730 yards. In what had to be one of the luckiest shots of World War Two, Coleman collected his winnings (to add to his treasure trove) and advised everyone that "You just have to know your gun!" Thereafter he was known as "Know your gun Coleman."

In August 1942, Rommel began another offensive in an attempt to break through the British defenses at El Alamein. He failed and the British counter attacked in what became the Second Battle of El Alamein. Rommel was slowly pushed back with great losses in armor and men. By September it was clear that Rommel would not overrun Egypt after all. The American contingent in Eritrea was ordered back to Egypt. Coleman said good-bye to his Italian language instructor and flew north to Egypt. He was assigned to the American Tank Shop at Darb El Hagg, Egypt as chief inspector. The emphasis had shifted from processing new tanks for the British to recycling tanks that had been damaged or knocked out in battle.

With his sizable bankroll of cash, Coleman rented a villa in Cairo where he and some of the other Americans lived. While walking down the street to the villa one day, he heard a female voice from behind him say, in perfect King’s English, "Excuse me sir; I’m looking for a job and I speak English and French, can you help me?" Coleman grasp his Luger as he turned around and there stood a six-foot tall Sudanese woman, immaculately dressed and kept. The Sudanese were distinguishable by their unusually dark pigment. They are so dark that they have an eggplant tone to their skins. Her name was Dagga and she was the daughter of a Sudanese governor and had been educated in Egypt. Her father had fallen out of political favor so she had decided to remain in Egypt and needed a job. They conversed for awhile and settled on her managing the villa for the Americans. She had two sisters who she hired and they took over the operation of the villa to include meals, cleaning, laundry and so on. Coleman and the Americans didn’t have to read Arabian Nights, they were living them!

In December 1942, Coleman was given a direct commission (battlefield commission) as a First Lieutenant, skipping over second lieutenant in the Regular Army. He had gone from a corporal in 1940 to a commissioned officer in 1942. First Lieutenant (1LT) Coleman continued as chief inspector at Darb El Hagg until January 1943 when he was ordered to return to the United States. Coleman bade Dagga farewell and gave her the remainder of his million dollars worth of Egyptian Piastres, about $200,000.00 dollars worth that he could not bring home with him. 1LT Coleman flew from Cairo to Khartoum, Sudan and on across Central Africa to Accra in Ghana in a C-47 airplane (DC-3). The flight across the South Atlantic was to be in a B-24 bomber. Everyone was anxious to get home after all that they had been through. The C-47 was running behind schedule and it did not appear that they would make their connection with the B-24 before it took off for South America. Everyone was urging the pilot to speed up so they could catch the B-24. He calmly told them to relax; it wasn’t going anywhere without them. Finally, they reached the airport and the C-47 pilot circled so they could get a good look at the still burning wreckage of their B-24 that had crashed on take off!

The group was delayed in Ghana for about a week until another westbound B-24 came through. When they finally loaded up and took off, Coleman was at one of the few windows in the B-24 and watched sheets of raw gasoline from the over- filled fuel tanks pouring off of the tops of the wings about six inches above the ten foot exhaust flames coming out of the supercharged engines! He prayed that they weren’t going to end up as another flaming wreck at the end of the runway. Other than the takeoff, the flight to Natal, Brazil was uneventful. From Natal, they boarded C-47s again and proceeded up the South American coast to the island of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. In Puerto Rico, Coleman came down with a raging fever and was quarantined in the hospital for two weeks before he could proceed. He finally arrived in Miami and went through customs. He was carrying a German Mauser K-98 rifle slung over his shoulder when he went through customs. They wanted to know if he felt well armed enough? He did, he had not shown them his Luger and Berretta pistols under his coat. From Miami he proceeded up the East Coast and returned to Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland again. He had been overseas for 19 months, most of it in combat zones.

Lieutenant Coleman returned to Aberdeen and became an armor instructor for Officer Candidate School (OCS) students in late January 1943. When he had gone overseas in 1941, his wife, Eunice,  had remained in Havre de Grace, Maryland while he was gone. She had gone to work in an ammunition factory in nearby Delaware as an inspector for munitions for the British government. They caught up on married life until March 1943 when Coleman received orders to go to Camp Santa Anita, California near Arcadia. They packed up their belongings, said their farewells and proceeded to California by way of Columbus, Georgia to visit Eunice’s family and Colorado to visit Floyd’s family enroute.

In order to conserve gasoline and tires for the war effort, the national speed limit was set at 35 mph. Everyone, including the military personnel, were issued gasoline ration coupons based on the necessary mileage they had to travel each month versus the gas mileage for their vehicle. The Colemans owned a 1938 Packard sedan, which was rated at 18 miles per gallon. The trip would take about three to four weeks, allowing for visits in Georgia and Colorado. It was time they needed together after such a long separation. While visiting in Columbus, Georgia, Eunice noticed an article on the front page of the local newspaper. "Delaware Munitions Plant Leveled by Explosion; Dozens Killed!" She and Floyd seemed to be under lucky stars, if there are such.

Upon arrival in California, they rented a house in Monrovia, which was a small country town near Los Angeles at that time. Lieutenant Coleman was assigned as the Assistant Chief of the Field Branch at Camp Santa Anita. He was further detailed to setup a desert recovery school for tank crews. He scouted the area and found a suitable location near Palmdale, California at the small town of Pear Blossom. His unit consisted of about twenty older model tanks, several recovery vehicles, and about fifty enlisted men. They moved to Pear Blossom and established an operating base in the California desert. Eunice remained in Monrovia after discovering that she was expecting their first child. Floyd traded the 1938 Packard in on a 1941 Graham Hollywood, which was a plainer version of the famous Cord automobile. The Graham was super-charged and was one of the premiere sports cars of the day. Coleman also came to the realization that he would have to rein in his lavish spending habits he had acquired in Africa with his million-dollar cash fund. He had sent back $2,000.00 from Africa and was now making $150.00 per month as a first lieutenant; a far cry from his earlier status!

The routine at the Pear Blossom site was to take tanks out into the desert and hide them. The troops being trained in recovery techniques would be given compass coordinates to the tank's location. Usually they would go out at night, along the way they were subject to being attacked by the enemy! In this case the enemy was Lieutenant Coleman’s crew acting as "Rommel Rats." In addition to recovery problems, the troops were trained in field maintenance on the tanks. Coleman usually was able to go home on weekends to be with Eunice in Monrovia, about a 60-mile trip each way. This wasn’t calculated into his gasoline ration, but he found a creative solution to the problem. The unit bought gasoline for the tanks and recovery equipment from the local gas station in Pear Blossom. One day there was a new tank to be fueled; it was a 1941 model Graham light armored assault vehicle. When buying 2,000 gallons of gasoline at a time, another 15 gallons wasn’t going to wreck the war effort.

The Pear Blossom routine continued through most of the year, as did Eunice’s pregnancy. The desert operation went smoother than her pregnancy. She developed various complications and was suffering from morning sickness all day for months on end. Finally, after a difficult delivery, their son was born on December 12, 1943; they named him Douglas Earl Coleman. Mother and son recovered.

During December 1943, one of the crew named Corporal "Ace" Minnie was sent out in the desert to hide a tank for recovery training. "Ace" headed out with the tank and was never seen again! A search party was mounted but found nothing. The next day Coleman received a telephone call from the train station in Palmdale, California. The stationmaster said that one of Coleman’s Jeeps was parked there, would someone come and get it? Coleman went to the station and found the Jeep; it was sitting by the station house with the engine still running! The stationmaster said that he thought he had seen someone fitting Corporal Minnie’s description get on the train. Corporal Minnie followed his orders but he neglected to tell anyone that he also had received orders to leave immediately for deployment to England. So Corporal Minnie was accounted for but there was still the matter of the tank! Coleman and a couple of his men went to nearby George Army Air Corp Base and requisitioned a C-45 Beechcraft (Twin Beech) to fly them back and forth across the desert looking for the tank, they saw nothing; the tank was never found. Today there is a tank buried somewhere in the suburbs of Palmdale, California.

The operation at Pear Blossom was terminated in January 1944. It was rated as highly successful and Lieutenant Coleman was commendated for his efforts. After dismantling the site at Pear Blossom, Coleman received orders to report to the Office of the Chief of Ordnance at Fort Story, Virginia. He had been requested by his old commanding officer in Africa, Major, and now Colonel Colby. He had a special assignment for Coleman! Lieutenant Coleman took the Graham and left for Virginia. Eunice remained in Monrovia, California in that Douglas was only a month old and not able to travel yet. There were neighbors and friends to help her with shopping and getting to the nearby doctors if necessary.

A couple of months later she caught a train from Los Angeles to Columbus, Georgia where her family was. Most of the trains running from the West Coast eastward were "Troop Trains," carrying soldiers on their way to England. When she boarded the train in Los Angeles, the agent at the station told her there should be a separate car for civilians traveling on the troop train. She boarded and the train pulled out; there was no separate car and in fact the train was over filled, there were no vacant seats anywhere. She sat on her suitcase in the restroom on one of the train cars for the next three days, nursing her baby when necessary until she reached Columbus. In Columbus she went to stay with her mother, Minnie Lynn, her younger brother, Allen Lynn and her grandfather, Berrien Lynn.

As the plans for the Allied invasion of Europe were being finalized in early 1944, a major problem appeared. If the beach landings were to succeed, armored support would be necessary in the first or second landing waves. The problem was that the beaches would not be secure enough to bring landing ships large enough to carry tanks (LSTs) on to the beach at that stage, they would be prime targets for shore batteries and aerial attack. The idea was hit upon to float the tanks ashore individually, thus making them smaller targets and keeping the landing ships at a relatively safe distance from the shore. Initial calculations indicated that it was feasible to attach flotation devices to the tanks and let them motor themselves ashore. Two different flotation systems were devised. The first was the Gruver Device, which was a rubber flotation screen that was pulled up around the tank. The tank was fitted with dual engine driven propellers. The second device was the Blankenship or T-6 device, which consisted of large metal flotation tanks attached to the tank and was propelled by the tank’s tracks running in the water. Lieutenant Coleman was assigned to test and debug the Blankenship device.

In February 1944 the first Blankenship device was ready for testing. Two large metal flotation tanks were attached one in front and one behind the tank. The flotation tanks were filled with plastic foam to prevent them from sinking if punctured by bullets. The technique was for the tank to motor ashore and pull up on the beach. Once there it would fire explosive bolts that would release the flotation tanks and free the tank to maneuver and fire its 75mm gun. The discarded flotation tanks would also provide cover for the advancing infantry troops. An M-4 Medium tank was fitted with the Blankenship device and loaded on board an LST and motored out into the Chesapeake Bay for the test. The project was critical and many high ranking officers turned out for the demonstration, including Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Ernest King.

Coleman prepared his tank for the test. The crew was on board and everything checked out. Just as a safety precaution, Coleman aligned the tank's turret to the forward position. This would allow the tank driver to exit the tank by way of the turret hatch if necessary. Otherwise he would have to exit by way of his individual hatch on the front of the tank. All was ready; the tank sped up and moved out of the LST and into the water. The field engineers had failed to consider the additional stress on the flotation tanks attach fitting generated by the tank accelerating out of the LST. As soon as the tank hit the water, both sets of attach fitting broke and the flotation tanks buckled up over the tank which immediately went to the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay in 80 feet of water!

Inside the tank, Coleman and his crew were trying to climb out of the turret hatch but the water pouring in washed them back inside. The water was cold and it was black dark. Coleman shouted for everyone to stay put until the tank was completely flooded, then they could get out. Just as the water was filling the inside of the tank, Coleman heard the driver screaming that he was stuck and couldn’t get out. Just then the turret filled up and everyone took their last breath; Coleman pushed the gunner and loader out of the top hatch. Then he grabbed the driver and pulled him towards the turret hatch. In the process the driver’s hand became wedged between the gun breech and the top of the turret. Starting to run out of air, Coleman braced himself against the side of the turret and pulled the driver free, leaving flesh and blood behind. The driver grabbed Coleman in a bear hug around his legs and hung on as Coleman swam for the surface. On the surface Coleman got the injured driver to a rescue barge and then he noticed that he was being pulled back under the water again. They had placed an empty gasoline can (Jerry can) attached to the tank with a hundred feet of rope in case it did sink, they would be able to locate it. The rope from the float can had wrapped around Coleman’s leg and the current was pulling the float and him back under water. He took a deep breath just as he was pulled under and swam down far enough to take the load off of the line and untangle his leg from it and reach the surface again. He had barely done it in the nick of time before the current tightened the rope around his leg and held him under the water!

In spite of their narrow escape from drowning, Coleman ordered up a second tank with the Blankenship device attached and re-embarked on another LST immediately. He reasoned that if he didn’t get his crew back on the water before they had time to think about it, they would never go back. They went back out in the bay but did not launch the tank until the attachment fittings could be redesigned. The driver did have time to think about it and absolutely refused to ever get in another tank of any kind! He went to the infantry. Coleman made it a point to always carry a straight blade knife thereafter. The attach fittings were redesigned and the system was successfully tested on several occasions without any further incidents.

In March 1944, Coleman and Colonel Blankenship with a fifteen-man crew sailed for England to demonstrate the T-6 device to the Allied Supreme Command. The overseas team was assembled and there was one lieutenant too many, he could not go; so he was promoted to captain as compensation. The new captain made himself scarce amidst death threats from Coleman and the other lieutenants. The transport ship was the Thurston and was loaded with military cargo in the holds and had tanks loaded on the decks, making it top heavy. In addition to the Blankenship team and equipment, there were ten thousand troops headed for England. The ship had accommodations for 10,000 men; Coleman was number 10,001! He became known as the "Phantom" as he lurked in dark corners and wandered about the ship all hours of the day and night looking for a berth. Finally the medical officer allowed him to sleep in sick bay for a few hours from time to time. The spring of 1944 was one of the worst storm seasons in the North Atlantic Ocean in history. Spring storms brought 50 to 70 foot waves as the ships struggled to maintain convoy formation as protection against lurking U-boats. Coleman had fewer regrets about not having a berth as he stood inside the hatchway and watched the ship roll 45 degrees one way then the other. It was related that if the ship had rolled two more degrees it would have capsized. The ship next to his would ride up on the waves with the propellers completely out of the water then disappear completely out of site below the tops of the 70-foot waves. Not being berthed in the bottom of the ship was OK after all! After landing in Cartiff, Wales they went to Cheltenham in Gloucestershire to set up shop and to train the British on the use of the Blankenship device.

Cheltenham turned out to be old home week for Lieutenant Coleman; he met several former associates while there: the sergeant (now major) who had suggested that he go AWOL in order to get stationed at Fort Douglas, Utah back in 1933; Corporal Paul Thompson (now major) from whom he had bought his first motorcycle in 1931; and even Corporal "Ace" Minnie from Palmdale turned up! Turns out that he had opened the tank up to full speed and jumped out and it ran into a dirt embankment which then collapsed over it and buried it completely. So there probably still is a tank buried in Palmdale, California! The other diversion at Cheltenham was a local club that required everyone to remove their rank ensigna before entering. As the evenings bore on the establishment usually turned into a "fight club," with general free for all’s ensuing. Lieutenants were attacking colonels and vice versa! Coleman got ejected so many times that he was on a first name basis with the bouncer!

Later on the unit moved to Frittens Lake, where the T-6s were assembled and tested. Coleman’s crew attended a British training school on underwater escape equipment. It was to be included in the amphibious tanks. One of the great fish stories of World War Two took place at this time. Frittens Lake abounded with large Pike fish some of them four and five feet in length. One day Coleman went fishing at the end of a long but rickety dock on the lake. There didn’t seem to be much biting, so he sat down and relaxed. Suddenly and with a mighty jerk his pole bent double and he was pulled into the lake. Whatever it was towed him across the lake with no strain. After filtering half the lake through his system, it occurred to Coleman to let go of the pole! He had to endure the indignities of having been caught by a fish; he countered with his story about the one that got away.

Coleman’s group was housed in Quonset huts, which had been set up on the grounds of an English manor house at Frittens Lake. Somewhere near by was an American air base from which B-17 bombers flew from. Coleman was visiting there one day on business and had stopped to have coffee in the mess building. While standing at a window looking out at the runways, a German Messerschmitt ME-109 fighter plane roared by at tree top level and the pilot waved to Coleman. Coleman turned to a British colonel who was standing nearby and casually commented, "You know that plane that just went by had an iron cross on it and the pilot had blue eyes!" "I say, not to worry, they do that all the time," replied the colonel. Coleman finished his coffee and left.

Back at Frittens Lake it was common to hear the B-17s going overhead on their way to bomb Germany. One morning while everyone was still in bed the sound of a B-17 was heard but it was much louder than usual. Suddenly there was an enormous explosion close by! The concussion from the blast knocked Coleman off of the upper level bunk beds he was sleeping on and on to the floor. The blast knocked out the windows and collapsed the building. The double decker bed protected Coleman from the roof as the Quonset hut fell in on him. He escaped without serious injury. Everyone ran outside thinking that they were under aerial attack by Germans. One hundred yards away was a roaring fire and the mangled remains of a B-17. In the court yard in front of where the Quonset hut had stood lay an engine, a landing gear, one unexploded 500-pound bomb and a man’s forearm! Everyone evacuated the area and in the process someone noticed an aircrew man sitting under a tree holding his parachute. When approached all he could say was, "I want my chute, I want my chute!" He was an American and was shaking like a leaf, had urinated all over himself and was obviously in shock. An ambulance was called from the air base and they covered the flyer with a blanket to control his state of shock. Before the ambulance arrived he had regained some of his composure and told Coleman that somehow the B-17 had caught on fire inside. He and another crewman could not reach the escape hatch because of the fire so they chopped a hole in the side of the airplane with a crash axe. This man jumped at about 100 feet above the ground.  His parachute opened and he swung down and was on the ground. Other than the shock he was apparently not seriously injured. The other man never got out of the B-17.

The Blankenship team assembled T-6 units and demonstrated them to various commanders. It fell to Lieutenant Coleman to give a presentation to General George Patton. He met with Patton and gave an oral explanation of the T-6 unit and how it worked. Patton was impressed with the concept and particularly with the idea of the infrantry being able to use the discarded flotation tanks as cover on the beach. He thanked Coleman and told him that he would be in touch as matters progressed with the invasion plans. Unbeknownst to the general public, Patton was only in command of a phantom army at this time. It was an elaborate deception against the Germans. It worked well, but Patton did not arrive in France until after the Normandy invasion, so he was not heard from again concerning the T-6 project.

By May 1944, the Supreme Allied Command authority decided against using the Blankenship T-6 system in favor of the Gruver system with the flotation skirt. Reason being that the Blankenship was 45 feet in length and reduced the number of M-4 tanks that could be transported by half. Coleman and his team were detailed to accompany the Gruver units as they made their landings on the Normandy beaches and report on their performance. Everyone drew their combat equipment and loaded on the LSTs along with the Gruver equipped M-4 Medium tanks and tried not to think about the fact that they would be in the first wave to hit the beach!  As the LSTs approached Normandy on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), the tanks were made ready for launching. A tragic oversight had been made with the Gruver systems. When they had been tested at various times, it was never with a fully loaded tank! The initial tests in the Chesapeake Bay had been with no ammunition on board, nor full fuel load, or full crew or crew equipment. The Chesapeake was smooth compared to the sea around Normandy. Now they were being launched with full ammo load, full fuel, full crew and crew equipment as well as additional essential spare parts on board. The first four tanks that were launched immediately foundered and sank taking most of their crews to the bottom with them!

Coleman realized what was happening and sought out the officer in charge of launching the tanks. He was a captain and Coleman told him he needed to stop launching the Gruver equipped tanks, he was just killing the men in them. He replied that his orders were to launch them and he would do so. Coleman went to find higher authority when he met a colonel coming his way who had realized the disaster in the making. He ordered the captain to cease launching the tanks. Other LSTs had similar experiences. Some tanks did make it to shore but the losses were very high. The remainder of the armor wasn’t unloaded until the LSTs could come close to the shore later in the landings. After the armor was ashore Coleman and his crew returned to England.  Some 50 years later in the 1990's, several of the sunken M-4s were discovered off the Normandy beach.

Back in England, Coleman’s crew continued to train the British on the use of the Blankenship T-6 systems, which were back in favor after the disaster with the Gruver system. There was some slack time during this period and Coleman and his crew spent several days in London. While there the British provided him with a chauffeur and a car. The chauffeur was a female British sergeant who had previously been Bob Hope’s chauffeur while he was on his USO Tours in England. She knew all the right places to go!

In September 1944, Coleman flew back to the United States on a C-54 aircraft by way of Scotland, Iceland, Greenland and Labrador, Canada and back to Aberdeen Proving Grounds again. After thinking it over for a while he complained to Colonel Blankenship that he felt that he needed to transfer to another branch. After all he had risked his neck repeatedly, had gone to England and Normandy and those who stayed in the States were promoted for not going! Blankenship agreed and Coleman was promoted to captain in November 1944. With his promotion came a new mission, he was being attached to the US Marine Corps and sent to the South Pacific to sell them on the T-6 device for amphibious invasions of various islands leading up to the invasion of Japan. Rank has its privileges but then everything has a price!