For at least the next 20 years, a stretch of Truman Boulevard (Hwy. 61-67) from Herculaneum to Festus will be known as the Sgt. James F. Coleman Memorial Highway.
As part of the memorial, a sign was placed on each end of the stretch of highway.
Coleman, a Herculaneum High School graduate, was killed in the Vietnam War on Feb. 29, 1968. He was 20 at the time.
“He was killed in hostile fire action in Kon Tum Province,” said his older brother, John Coleman of Festus, who also was in the Army and achieved the rank of staff sergeant.
John Coleman petitioned the Missouri Department of Transportation to get the stretch of highway named after his brother. Coleman said he also had to pay for the signs and other expenses related to the highway memorial program.
“I’m a veteran and my brother is on the Vietnam Wall in Washington and on the replica in Perryville. I wanted to honor my brother,” Coleman said. “I’m 77 years old and I wanted to memorialize my brother.”
He said it was an involved process to get the memorial finalized.
“I didn’t even know how to start,” Coleman said. “I just started asking questions. It took, maybe, eight months to get the signs.
“You also need a champion in the Legislature. I worked with Rep. Mike McGirl (R-Potosi). The petition required 100 signatures. (Once approved by MoDOT), it cost $3,400. That’s good for 20 years. At the end of the 20 years, you can renew.”
He said MoDOT crews placed the signs on Truman Boulevard on March 4.
Coleman said the Sgt. James F. Coleman Memorial Highway can be seen from where his family lived when he and his brother were growing up.
“The signs are on Truman Boulevard from near Hwy. A in Festus to near McNutt School Road in Herculaneum,” Coleman said. “I was very fortunate to get that location. The old family house was on Scenic Drive. It looks down on James’ stretch of highway.”