Corporal Coleman was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was Killed in Action while fighting the enemy northwest of Taegu, South Korea during the final stage of the defense of the Pusan Perimeter on 12 September 1950.

Coleman was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation, the Republic of Korea War Service Medal and the Army of Occupation (Japan) Medal.