Charles M. Coleman enjoys his retirement with his faithful companion, General MacArthur.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the last in a series published each Monday between Memorial Day and Veterans Day honoring local veterans.

CANFIELD — Charles M. Coleman put in 30 years of serving the nation and training young men to do the same.

Now retired from the military and civilian work force, Coleman continues to serve veterans and the community as a member of the American Legion Post 177.

Coleman grew up in the Mahoning Valley and was a 1968 graduate of Chaney High School. At age 17, and immediately after graduation, Coleman was accepted into The United States Military Academy at West Point, where he spent the next four years of his life. He graduated on June 7, 1972 and was assigned to the 109th Military Intelligence Group at Seneca Army Depot in New York.

“It was where nuclear warheads were stored at that time,” Coleman said. “The depot has long since closed and nuclear material moved.”

Part of his assignment was to do background investigations and assess travel route threats when nuclear warheads were moved.

“I was a young 21-year-old second lieutenant and it was an interesting detail,” he said. “I was younger than the guys who served under me, but I learned a lot from them.”

Between assignments, Coleman found time to marry Holly Dutton, who would be supportive in a long military career and many moves.

After a short time in Seneca, Coleman was transferred to a joint Navy-Army-Air Force Group stationed at the U.S. Navy Submarine Base at New London, Conn. He was assigned as a special agent with DIS (Defense Investigative Service).

“We were across the Thames River from the General Dynamics plant that built the Trident submarines,” Coleman said. “My job was to handle background investigations for plant employees needing a security clearance.”

In 1975, Coleman was assigned to Fort Bragg’s John F. Kennedy Center for Military Assistance where he served in the personnel section. He remained there until 1977 when he went off active duty.

“I went to New Hampshire hoping to find a job,” he said, “but it was a depressed economic time in the U.S.”

After a short time of not finding anything, Coleman and Holly made the choice to return to Ohio.

In April of 1978, Coleman landed a position with Babcock and Wilcox Company in Barberton, where he was assigned to the Naval Nuclear Systems division. That same year, Coleman decided to continue his service by accepting a commission in the Ohio Army National Guard.

“I had invested five years of active duty, and felt I could still contribute,” he said.

He was accepted into the Guard as a captain and quickly moved up the ranks to major. The problem with that rank was his assigned area. He was placed in intelligence and said there was no position for an intelligence major in Ohio, so he switched to the 16th Engineering Brigade out of Columbus.

Coleman received another promotion to lieutenant colonel while with the 16th and he stayed in the brigade until 1985, when he had the opportunity to go on active duty to train others in the ROTC program at Youngstown State University. At YSU, he became an assistant professor of military science.

“I recall the way we used to have students rappel off the football stadium,” Coleman said. “It was a rewarding time, shaping the next leaders of the Army.”

He served the ROTC program for four years on a military leave of absence from Babcock & Wilcox. He also was able to use his G.I. Bill to pay for a master’s degree in business administration, and stayed on at YSU briefly as Director of the Center for Quality and Productivity.

In 1990, along with two other business majors, Coleman opened Mill Creek Consultants. The new business provided engineering and management consulting services to business and industry.

In 1991, Coleman went back to active duty to attend The Army War College as a “Senior Service College Fellow” at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University in Boston, Mass. The school is where most foreign ambassadors attend. He kept his Canfield home and rented a one-bedroom apartment while in Boston.

In 1997, he returned to Ohio and was employed by Bliss-Salem Manufacturing as director of business processes. He was there one year when he heard about an opening at Linde Hydraulics Corp. in Canfield for a process control manager. He was hired an spent 21 years there, retiring in January of this year.

While working at Linde, Coleman took a position as Commander, Fort Ohio. In this position, Coleman provided overall supervision of Camp Garfield in Ravenna, Camp Perry in Port Clinton, and Camp Sherman in Columbus. Coleman held that position until 2002 when he officially retired from military service after putting in 30 years.

“Thirty years of service is the maximum for a commissioned officer who is not selected for the rank of general,” Coleman said.

Coleman stayed with Linde Hydraulics and spoke highly of the company. In 2016, he was diagnosed with head and neck cancer and had to go through radiation and chemo, but the company kept him on the payroll and allowed him to do what he could from home.

Coleman’s life was centered around service and when he was serving in the ROTC program at YSU, he was offered a one-year free membership in the American Legion. He remained a member of the Legion for 29 years, rising through the ranks, and seeing a lot of accomplishments.

The most recent accomplishment was having three Canfield bridges dedicated to veterans and first responders, and this year a large flagpole will be erected on the north end of the Village Green in Canfield that will be dedicated to veterans.

Even in his retirement, Coleman is still serving, and may be in line to be Commander of Post 177 in April.

Charles M. Coleman

AGE: 69

RESIDENCE: Canfield

SERVICE BRANCH: U.S. Army, Army National Guard

MILITARY HONORS: Legion of Merit Medal, 3 Meritorious Service medals, 4 Army Commendation medals and the Army Achievement Medal

OCCUPATION: Retired as process control manager at Linde Hydraulics Inc. in Canfield

FAMILY: wife, Holly; daughter, Sarah Coleman