Alfred Edwin Coleman
Sergeant Alfred E. Coleman served with George Company, Second Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Betio, Tarawa atoll, on 22 November 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 280087
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
December 21, 1919
at West Frankford, IL
Parents
Alfred Hudson Coleman
Lennie (Shell) Coleman
Education
Grammar school
(Details unknown)
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
January 8, 1940
at Birmingham, AL
Home Of Record
Route 7
North Birmingham, AL
Next Of Kin
Parents, Alfred & Lennie Coleman
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
G/2/2nd Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Sergeant Alfred E. Coleman served with George Company, 2nd Marines during the Tarawa campaign.
On 20 November 1943, G/2/2 was designated to land as a support wave on Betio’s Beach Red 2, following Easy and Fox Companies of their battalion. Their LVTs began taking fire as they approached the beach – an experience described by George Company veteran Robert Twitchell:
Coming in along the pier we could hear the THUMPA-THUMPA-THUMPA of machine gun slugs hitting the armor plate, and every few seconds the KERWUMPA-KERWUMPA-KERWUMPA of a mortar shell exploding alongside. "My God, my God," I repeated over and over, "what the hell am I doing here?"
No one hesitated jumping or leaping over the side of the amtrac – it was the only way to exit as there were no doors. For a few long seconds you are a very visible target..... Lying on the already stained white coral sands and half floating in the lagoon were four of the men who I had just rode in with, slept with, prayed with and hoped with.... The horrible realization of what had happened struck me; the other five men in that amtrac must have been killed or wounded as they tried to climb up and over the side....
Sergeant Coleman managed to survive the initial landings, and fought for two days until the battle was nearly over. He was wounded in action on 22 November 1943 – diagnosed with “war neurosis,” although some casualty reports also suggest he suffered gunshot wounds – and was tagged for evacuation. It was the last time anyone from George Company laid eyes on Coleman.
Coleman was duly noted as “wounded and evacuated,” and a telegram was dispatched to his parents. As weeks and then months passed without updates, an investigation into his whereabouts was launched. Many Tarawa casualties wound up in Navy Hospital #128 – Pearl Harbor. PFC William Hussey, a G/2/2 Marine wounded at Tarawa, told officials:
“Sgt. Alfred E. Coleman and PFC Robert C. Smith were admitted as patients to USN #128 at Pearl Harbor following their evacuation from the zone of active operations. They were confined to Ward C at this hospital. To the best of my knowledge [they] were transferred from this hospital during the first week of January 1944 to the US for further treatment.”
However, the hospital had no admittance record for Coleman or Smith. Nor did any of the vessels transporting wounded men from Betio.
Alfred Coleman was officially declared dead on 23 November 1944. To this day, the exact circumstances of his death are a mystery.
Burial Information or Disposition
None recorded.
Next Of Kin Address
The Colemans lived in an unnumbered residence on Route 7, North Birmingham.
Location Of Loss
Sergeant Coleman was last seen awaiting evacuation from Betio.
