News Release … October 11, 2005

Scholarship Fund Established to Honor the Late Lt. Col. J.D. Coleman

Twenty veterans of the U.S. Army’s 1st Air Cavalry Public Information Office who served under Lt. Col. J.D. Coleman in Vietnam reunited Aug. 6, 2005 in Kalispell, Montana to salute their former commanding officer and announce a scholarship fund they have established in his honor.

The Lt. Col. J.D Coleman and Madeline Young Coleman Scholarship Fund will make an award annually to a college student at the sophomore level or above with a 3.5 or higher grade point average and pursuing a degree in journalism in Montana. The fund will be administered through the Montana Community Foundation in Helena.

“J.D. was much more than a commanding officer to us,” said Joe Kamalick, Springfield, Va., speaking on behalf of the group. “He was a mentor and role model as well. Beyond just military rank, he was a leader by virtue of his own many talents and commitment. With his own high standards and example, he taught us life lessons that have served us all so well in the three-plus decades since we served with him in wartime.”

Coleman, died Oct. 4 of cancer, one month after the reunion. He was 74.

A Montana native, Coleman spent much of his youth in and around Kalispell in the western part of the state. After his first tour in the Army he returned to study journalism at the University of Montana in nearby Missoula. Upon graduation, he worked one year as the Grizzlies’ sports information director and later as a newspaper and radio reporter.

Coleman served in the Army from 1948 to 1952 and later from 1963 to 1979. His career includes a tour of duty in Korea and two tours in Vietnam.

While he held field commands of infantry units and earned a Silver Star in 1966, Coleman made his mark as a consummate public information officer. He was a 1st Cav PIO when the division pioneered the airmobile concept at Fort Benning, Ga. and deployed to Vietnam in 1965. Communicating the division’s challenges and successes in the early days of the Vietnam War and later its role in the pacification process were major accomplishments.

Coleman is survived by his wife Madeline, of Kalispell, five children, 10 grand children and two great-grandchildren.

Persons wishing to make tax deductible contributions to the scholarship fund should send checks payable Montana Community Foundation, 101 N. Last Chance Gulch, Suite 211, Helena, MT 59601 and note “J.D. Coleman Fund” on the check.

For additional information, contact: