October 12, 1946 - April 13, 2024
rank: Sgt.
Dates of service: 1966 - 1970
Bennie Coleman grew up on a farm in Wilson County and graduated from Rock Ridge High School in 1965. He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1966. He completed basic training in Texas at Amarillo Air Force Base and Lackland Air Force Base. He was sent to Charleston, South Carolina, assigned to the 437 Field Maintenance Squad as an Air Force repairman for C-130 cargo planes. When time allowed, he would drive to Wilson to visit his parents, friends, and his future wife, Ann Rodgers. After 2.5 years at Charleston, he was sent to Taiwan stationed at Chain-Kai-Shek (CCK) in Taichung, the largest military base in Taiwan. This base serviced US aircraft flying in and out of Vietnam. CCK hosted the Bob Stope Christmas Show in 1969 and also offered sightseeing trips of the island, and he took advantage of as many trips as he could, enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery, the primitive farming methods, and the growing and harvesting of the rice. Bennie finished his tour of duty at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, and received an Honorable Discharge at McChord AFB, Tacoma, Washington, on June 7, 1970.
Bennie returned to Wilson County and he and Ann married in 1971. Their son, Bennie Jr., was born in 1977. Bennie worked several jobs before deciding to take advantage of the GI Bill and he enrolled in the machinist program at Wilson Tech, where he received the President's Award upon graduation. Realizing he needed more training, he and Ann moved to Raleigh in 1972 and he enrolled in the Tool and Die program at WW Holding Technical Institute. He maintained an A average and received the Outstanding Student award. While at Holding, he worked part-time at Terminal Communications. After graduation, he found full-time employment at Stackpole Components and he and Ann bought a house in Lynnwood Estates. After Stackpole closed Ark-Les Corporation moved into the building, manufacturing switches for Whirlpool. Bennie made many trips for Ark-Les to Watertown and Boston, MA, Clear Water, Florida, Canada, San Francisco and Portugal and Rome. When Whirlpool moved its operations to China, Bennie remained at Ark-Les to help with the shutdown. He spent five years doing handyman jobs until he was hired at ElectroSwitch. He retired in 2019. Bennie was also a skilled woodworker and spent his retirement renovating the Coleman family farmhouse, but died before completing the project.
