HANOVER, PENNSYLVANIA

Charlie Coleman, Sr. landed on Utah Beach on D-Day with Battery C of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion. After the war Coleman spent the next 43 years as a trainer and caretaker at Hanover Shoe Farms in Hanover, Penn., where his charges included several Triple Crown winners. Coleman died on Jan. 30, 2003. “He is my hero,” says his son, Charlie Coleman, Jr., who heard about FORGOTTEN and wrote to this website to report that his father fought with the men of the 320th. Coleman earned several medals for his service, though he never received them, says his son. It’s a familiar story among African-American veterans. Several 320th vets reclaimed their medals long after the war. Here is a link to the National Archives site that is a first step for veterans hoping to reclaim their lost medals, or their family members hoping to do it for them.