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Life-long friends honored for service by Fort Scott Elks Lodge
Living only two miles away from each other while in school helped Harold Coleman and Darrel Beth develop a close relationship. After their high school graduation, fate stepped in to keep them close.
On Nov. 9, the Elks Lodge honored the two Vietnam Veterans for their service to the United States during their tours of duty. Although the Elks Lodge usually recognizes one veteran each month, local resident Bill Danley said since Coleman and Beth have been close friends for many years, it seemed appropriate to recognize them both at the same time.
"Those little boogers have been together since the first grade," Danley said. "They're just like a couple of twins. You couldn't separate them for nothing. We couldn't recognize one without the other."
Both Coleman and Beth said the honor bestowed upon them by the Elks Lodge was more special because they were recognized together. Beth explained when he and Coleman first came home from Vietnam, they were not treated well.
"Back when we were there (Vietnam), nobody cared about us," Beth said. "People didn't think we deserved to be alive. I think it is great (to get recognized after all these years)."
Beth added although he was pleased to receive recognition for the years he spent in the Army, he said the troops who are currently serving in the war should have been honored instead of he and Coleman.
"I salute the troops who are over there now, the ones who are dead and the families who support them," Beth said.
Echoing Beth's comment, Coleman said the troops who are currently serving in the armed forces need to be shown support.
"When I see the infantry guys loaded down and ready to depart," he said. "It puts a lump in my throat. I usually say a prayer for their safety."
According to Coleman, for eleven years, the two friends went to school together, played sports together and hunted and fished together. After high school, Coleman and Beth were both drafted into the Army. Only ten days after Beth got married, the two friends were inducted into the Service.
Although both men were sent to Fort Wood, Mo. to undergo basic training, they were placed in different companies. According to Coleman, both he and Beth thought they would being saying good bye to each other as surly they would be stationed in different places. However, fate stepped in causing both men to go through advanced individual infantry training at Fort Gordon, Ga.
After their training was complete, both Coleman and Beth were placed in the 82nd Missile Detachment and deployed to Lechfeld, Germany. According to Coleman, the two men served as security in the detachment making sure the Pershing Missiles they used were protected at all times.
"We had to guard the site where the Missiles were stored," Coleman said. "If it looked like anyone was going to over-run the site, it was our job to destroy them (the Missiles)."
After seven months in Germany, both soldiers were shipped to Vietnam and assigned to C-3 -- 506th -- 101st at camp Hotchsmith. Hotchsmith was located near Phu Bai, Vietnam just south of Hue, the ancient capital of Vietnam. Although Coleman and Beth were placed in different squads in Vietnam, they were both in the same platoon and given the responsibility of being M-60 machine gunners.
Both soldiers were discharged from the service within a day of each other, according to Coleman. Since returning home, they have lived within a few miles of each other and remain the best of friends.
Beth said being able to stay close to Coleman during his tour of duty, made his time in the Service more bearable.
"(Being stationed with Coleman) made it easier. We are just like brothers," Beth said. "If the government had known we knew each other, they wouldn't have put us together. I don't know how we did it, but we stayed together the whole way through."