Army Spc. Bradley S. Coleman

Died October 29, 2008 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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24, of Martinsville, Va.; assigned to the 51st Transportation Company, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Mannheim, Germany; died Oct. 29 at Marez, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.

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Fallen soldier remembered for generous nature

The Associated Press

Bradley S. Coleman’s mom remembered him as a caring and generous man. She recalled hearing that while he was in training for the Army, a soldier’s wallet was stolen, and along with it, his money to get home.

Coleman collected enough donations from other soldiers to send the man home, said Dianne Vernon.

Coleman, 24, of Martinsville, Va., died Oct. 29 in Marez, Iraq, of a gunshot wound. He was a 2003 high school graduate and was assigned to Mannheim, Germany.

Coleman had been in Iraq since June and was scheduled for home leave in January. Coleman enlisted in the Army in April 2007 but had talked about joining since he was a kid.

“From the time he was a small child, that’s all he talked about: going in the Army,” said his stepmother, Yolanda Coleman.

“He was a sweet, loving, kind person who was always a gentleman.”

He also is survived by his wife, Heather, and two children, Edward Thane, 2, and Shyanna, 1.

“Shane was the kind of person where everybody he met wanted to be his friend,” Yolanda Coleman said. “We probably had 50 to 60 of his friends come by the house in last 24 hours, talking about what a good person he was.”