Vietnam veteran was inspiration for daughter's service

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Darron Salzer | Army Capt. Trenia Coleman, appeals and analysis section chief, National Guard Bureau human resources, stands next to her father, Jessie Hill, a Vietnam veteran, during a ceremony at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington Cemetery, Nov. 5. Coleman was promoted to the rank of major, while her father was formally awarded the Purple Heart that he received after being wounded in February 1966 while he served in Vietnam.  

ARLINGTON, VA, UNITED STATES

11.10.2010

Story by Sgt. Darron Salzer 

National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. - During her recent promotion ceremony, a National Guard member said her father was her inspiration for her service.

"I come from a family of military men, so I chose to follow in my father's footsteps," said Army Maj. Trenia Coleman, who is from Louisiana.

Coleman's father, Jessie Hill, who was a Vietnam War veteran, received a Purple Heart during the ceremony here at the Women in Military Service for America memorial at Arlington Cemetery.

With friends and family in attendance, Coleman, who is the appeals and analysis section chief for the National Guard Bureau's human resources office, was promoted to the rank of major.

She said that it meant the world to her to have her father attend the ceremony.

"I am very proud of my father," she said.

Hill's family said that he had served from 1964-66 with the 25th Infantry Division, 502nd Aviation Battalion and included time spent in Vietnam, where he was wounded on Feb. 27, 1966.

Hill was a private first class and served as a door gunner. After being wounded, Hill was sent back home to Hawaii, where he awaited a medical discharge from the Army.

After his discharge, the Purple Heart was mailed to Hill, but it was never properly presented and it did not show up on his discharge papers.

"We worked on getting the award added to his [discharge papers] and presented to him, and we thought that combining the two occasions would be really special," Coleman said.

Hill said he was drafted by the Army in 1964. "When my daughter decided that she was going to enlist, I was a little nervous because I didn't want her to go through the same things that I did," he said. "After a while though, I felt alright about it."

As he watched his daughter become a major, the emotion could be read on Hill's face.

"I am very proud of my daughter today, and I'm glad that she has made it as far as she has," he said. "I never dreamed that she would have come this far."

• Date Taken: 11.10.2010
• Date Posted: 11.10.2010 17:35
• Story ID: 59871
• Location: ARLINGTON, VA, US