American Valor Quarterly Issue 11 - Fall 2014 | Page 19

The

Highlight

My Life

of

The Story of A World War II Veter an
and Major League Baseball Player
From Jerry Coleman
As veteran, ballplayer and Major League
broadcaster, Lt. Col. Jerry Coleman
experienced a rich career. Distinguishing
himself not only as a veteran of both World
War II and the Korean War, but also as a
player in major league baseball, Coleman served
as a Marine aviator from 1944-45, and again
from 1951-53. During that time, Coleman
flew 120 missions, earning military medals
including two Distinguished Flying Crosses.
He was also the only major league player to see
combat in the two wars.
Gerald “Jerry” Francis Coleman was born
Sept. 14, 1924, in San Jose, Calif. He signed
with the New York Yankees minor league
system at just 17 but delayed his baseball
career to join the Marine Corps. He was a
naval aviation cadet in the V-5 program in
San Francisco and was commissioned as a
second lieutenant in April 1944. Coleman
was deployed to Guadalcanal and assigned to
the 341st Marine Scout Bombing Squadron.
During WWII, he flew 57 combat missions in
the SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber throughout
campaigns involving Guadalcanal, the Solomon
Islands and the Philippines. Over the course of
that war, Coleman earned two Distinguished
Flying Crosses as well as seven Air Medals.
In 1946, Coleman was moved to the inactive
list and resumed his baseball career, working
his way through the New York Yankees’
system. The team picked him up in 1949, and
he became their starting second baseman.
Coleman took another stint away from
baseball for the Korean War, returning to active
FALL 2014

combat in 1952, flying 63 missions and earning
accolades that included six more Air Medals,
the Korean Service Medal with two stars
and the United Nations Service Medal. He
returned to the major leagues afterward, where
he played alongside Yankee legends like Joe
DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle.
He was second baseman for the Yankees for
nine years altogether, playing in six World
Series and winning eight Division Titles.
In 1957, Coleman retired as second baseman
for the Yankees but continued to be involved
in baseball, working as a radio announcer for
the team for seven seasons, beginning in 1963.
He then famously gave play-by-play for the San
Diego Padres for almost 40 years, beginning
in 1972. His signature catchphrases like,
“You can hang a star on that baby!” became

BESIDES BEING ONE OF
BASEBALL’S MOST BELOVED
FIGURES OF THE LAST 75
YEARS, JERRY COLEMAN
WAS AMONG ITS MOST
DECORATED VETERANS.
HE FLEW A COMBINED 120
COMBAT MISSIONS IN
WORLD WAR II AND KOREA,
AND WAS AWARDED TWO
DISTINGUISHED FLYING
CROSSES, 13 AIR MEDALS, AND
THREE NAVY CITATIONS. HE
IS THE ONLY MLB PLAYER TO
HAVE SEEN COMBAT IN BOTH
WORLD WAR II AND KOREA.
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