J.D. Coleman, 75

Lt. Col. J.D. Coleman (retired), loving husband of 53 years, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, died of cancer at his home in Kalispell, on Oct. 4, 2005, surrounded by his loving family.

He was born Dec. 16, 1930, in Spokane, the son of Phil and Lois LaBreche. Abandoned by his father during his infancy, he was raised east of the mountains, where his mother taught in several one-room country schools. J.D. and his mother later moved to the Flathead and lived in Columbia Falls and Kalispell.

After graduating from Flathead County High School, J.D. joined the Montana National Guard in 1948 and in April of that year went on active duty with the U.S. Army. After basic training J.D. was assigned to the 11th Airborne Division in Sendai, Japan, and proudly became a "rice paddy jumper." With the start of hostilities in Korea, J.D. served as an Airborne Infantryman in the 187th Regimental Combat Team (Airborne) and during the conflict, made two combat jumps behind enemy lines.

J.D. was honorably discharged in 1952 after four years of service, returned to Kalispell, where he met his future wife, Madeline Young. J.D. and Madeline were married Sept. 14, 1952, and the couple moved to Missoula where J.D. pursued a degree in journalism at the University and graduated in 1956. While attending the University full time J.D. worked at a local radio station where he covered local news and sports.

After graduation J.D. worked for a newspaper in Pasco, Wash., and then returned to Missoula and became the assistant sports information director at the University. He later took the position of news director and editorial writer for Missoula radio station KBTK. J.D. remained affiliated with the U.S. Army Reserve and received a direct commission as a 2nd Lt. in 1958.

In 1963, J.D. returned to active duty with the U.S. Army and was assigned to Fort Benning, Ga., where he was an infantry company commander with the 11th Air Assault Division (test) which was later re-designated the 1st Air Cavalry Division (airmobile). As a captain in August 1965, he was deployed to Vietnam with the 1st Cav, initially as assistant public information officer (PIO). During this time J.D. wrote the official After Action Report of the Pleiku campaign that was extensively studied by senior leaders in the military; this report later became the basis for his first published book - "Pleiku, The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare."

Later during his first tour he was selected for command of a paratrooper infantry rifle company with the First Cavalry Division (B Co. 2/8). There J.D. served with distinction and was awarded a Silver Star and a Bronze Star with "V" for Valor for actions during a pivotal battle in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, during which he and his company of soldiers successfully led the defense of a Special Forces camp as several battalions of North Vietnamese Army regulars furiously assaulted it. The 18 hours of intense combat won his unit the first Valorous Unit Citation ever awarded to a rifle company in Vietnam.

Upon returning to the states, J.D. was assigned to the Defense Information School in Indiana for two and a half years. In 1969 he returned to Vietnam as PIO for the 1st Cavalry. There J.D. assembled a team of young soldiers to write and photograph the exploits of the "First Team." J.D., now a major, spent much time sparring with the members of the news media around the world who seemed determined to undermine the war effort and discredit the brave young men who were fighting an unpopular war.

Back in the states again in April 1970, he was PIO for the Combat Development Command at Fort Belvoir, Va., where he filled a colonel's slot as a major. J.D. went on to be PIO at Fort Ord, Calif., and chief of command information at Fort McPherson, Ga.

J.D. retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel in 1979. In addition to the Silver Star he wore three Legions of Merit, four Bronze Stars, two CIB's and a Meritorious Service medal.

After retiring from active duty, J.D. became communications director for the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, helping lure Fortune 500 companies to the area (a campaign that won a national award) and PIO for the Georgia Department of Public Safety (Highway Patrol). In 1980, J.D. signed on for some strenuous part-time work as a disaster assistance employee at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). His assignments included hurricanes in Mississippi, Florida and Alabama, and a tornado in Wisconsin.

In 1989 his first book on Vietnam was published - "Pleiku: The Dawn of Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam," covering events of his first tour with the First Cav in Vietnam. He followed up with his second book in 1991 - "Incursion: From America's Chokehold on the NVA Lifelines to the Sacking of the Cambodian Sanctuaries."

In 1991 he finally returned to his beloved Montana, as a Forest Service public affairs officer at the Flathead National Forest. After retiring from the Forest Service in 1997, J.D. signed back on with FEMA with deployments that included the immense Hayman Fire in Colorado in 2002, and floods in Louisiana and North Dakota. That same year his latest book was published, "WONJU, The Gettysburg of the Korean War."

In 2003 J.D. was recalled by the Forest Service to help run a wildfire information office.

J.D. was a member of the advisory committee of the Journalism School in Missoula, board member on the Flathead County Republican Assembly, and a member of the Flathead County Central Committee and the First Church of the Nazarene in Kalispell. J.D. was also active in the 1st Cavalry and the 187th RCT (Rakkasans) Association and followed his alma mater's football team with passion.

"J.D. leaves a vacant spot in all of our hearts and, while cancer can kill the body, we know it cannot take the soul which went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

J.D. is survived by his wife of 53 years, Madeline; two daughters, Kathleen Sudan and husband, Marvin, their three children, Tracey Jean, Travis and Kimberly Morrison and husband, Bill, all of Kalispell, and Michelle Standley and husband, John, and their two daughters, Rebecca of New Orleans, and Jennifer of Kalispell; three sons, Darrell Coleman and his wife, Jand, and two children, Alex Jean of Dallas, and Michelle of Salinas, Calif., Roger Coleman and sons, Charles and Roger, of Louisiana, and Joseph and son, Brandon, of Louisiana. J.D. is also survived by two great-granddaughters, Caitlin Jean and Anna Louise Morrison.

Funeral services for J.D. Coleman will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 10, at the Kalispell Church of the Nazarene with Pastor Ed Koteskey officiating. Burial will follow at Glacier Memorial Gardens.

The family suggests that memorial contributions be sent to the scholarship fund for Journalism Students at the University of Montana at Montana Community Foundation, 101 N. Last Chance Gulch, Suite 111, Helena, MT 59601.

Johnson Mortuary and Crematory is caring for J.D.'s family.