Fred Hughes Coleman, Jr. was born on September 9, 1916 in New Jersey to Fred Hughes and Helen Moorhouse Coleman an Army family. Fred entered the US Military Academy with the Class of '39 but because of some difficulty with Mathematics, he joined the Class of '40 in January 1937.

After graduation Fred went to flying school in Texas and Florida, finally graduating in 1941 as a fighter pilot. He served with fighters in Newfoundland, in the United States and in the Canal Zone. In 1944, he was sent to the China-Burma-India Theater as a Squadron Commander in the 311th Fighter Group of the 14th Air Force. On March 25, 1945 he was reported missing in action, but returned to duty.

On July 25, 1945, Lieutenant Colonel Fred Hughes Coleman, Jr., was killed by Japanese anti-aircraft fire while dive bombing ground installations at Anyang, Honan, China. Fred was buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery in Shanghai later re-interred. He is now buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA.

He was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China and his name is inscribed as Frederick Colman.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com