Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Sylvester Coleman Papers, 1942-1945. Accession 50174. Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Montez Coleman Reynolds, Lynchburg, Virginia, 4 October 2011.

Biographical Information

Sylvester "Pete" Coleman was born on 12 November 1905/1906/or 1907 (sources vary). He was a resident of Lynchburg, Virginia, employed by the Craddock-Terry Shoe Corporation, and married to Verna "Lucy" Coleman (1913-1997) with one child when he enlisted with the United States Army in May 1943. Entering the service as a private first class, he rose to the rank of corporal with the 534th Amphibian Tractor Battalion, Company B. Coleman worked as a crew chief on an amphibian tractor used to transport supplies and men from shore to shore, making landings on Saipan and Tinian in the Mariana Islands. He was honorably discharged from the Army on 16 November 1945 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and returned to Lynchburg. Pete Coleman died in March 1964.

Scope and Content

Papers, 1942-1945 and undated, of Sylvester "Pete" Coleman (ca. 1906-1964) of Lynchburg, Virginia, while serving with the 534th Amphibian Tractor Battalion during World War II. Included are clippings of war-related comics and news articles; various postcards, most written to Coleman's wife, Verna "Lucy" Coleman (1913-1997), by him and by other family (including Verna's brother Claude "Bud" Riley) and friends; several pieces of memorabilia, including a short snorter and a copy of a card certifying Coleman's induction into the Sacred Order of the Golden Dragon (given upon crossing the International Date Line), a pocketbook "Fighter's Guide" featuring patriotic and religious readings, and a September 1945 newsletter of the 28th Replacement Depot; various snapshots of Coleman, his fellow servicemen, and scenes from their time in Hawaii and Saipan, as well as a yearbook-style page with studio portraits of the members of the 534th; and miscellaneous documents from Coleman's service, 1943-1945, including the menu for Christmas Day, 1944, his pay record for the period commencing 30 November 1944, a presidential unit citation for the 534th's role in the seizure of Saipan and Tinian in the Mariana Islands Campaign, his separation qualification record, and copies of his honorable discharge. One oversize photograph, taken by the Fort Lewis Sentinel of Fort Lewis, Washington, shows servicemen lining the deck of an unidentified ship; possibly the one on which Coleman returned to the United States in 1945.