Jerry Coleman, the voice of the San Diego Padres, was honored with a special plaque at Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial this past Monday. Despite being well-known to most San Diegans for his play-by-play baseball commentary and the catch phrase “Oh, Doctor! You can hang a star on that baby,” few realize that he was a Marine aviator during World War II and the Korean War.
Coleman ” who flew 120 missions, was highly decorated and reached the rank of lieutenant colonel ” interrupted a successful run as the second baseman with the New York Yankees to serve in the Korean War. His longtime broadcast partner, Ted Leitner, says that he was intrigued when he first learned of Coleman’s military background but not surprised because he has come to know him as a very modest man.
William Kellogg, president of the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial Association, said that the Memorial Day ceremonies had the best attendance of any event the association has held to date. Attendees filled the white chairs set out in the lot below the cross and many more people stood behind them on the grass overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Highlights included music from the Navy Band Southwest, presentation of the Colors by the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Color Guard and a 21-gun salute by the MCRD Rifle Team.
Speakers included San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and California Secretary of Veteran Affairs Tom Johnson, who read a message from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Dr. Bobby Brown, a former teammate and longtime friend of Coleman, shared his memories before Coleman was presented with the plaque. Coleman, who is well-known for his sometimes humorous mistakes behind the microphone, did not disappoint during his acceptance. In an apparent attempt to cast off the title of “hero,” he remarked that all of America’s heroes are dead ” meaning that the real heroes are the ones who gave their lives for the country. However, he caught himself and quickly turned to three Medal of Honor recipients seated behind the podium, saying they are the exception to the rule.
In what was apparently serendipity, Brig. Gen. Michael J. Aguilar, USMC (Ret.), ended his keynote address just as the San Diego Salute T-34 Formation Team completed its first low pass over the Mount Soledad Cross. The four aircraft, with white smoke trailing behind them, made a slow arc overhead and performed the Missing Man Formation as the crowd rose to its feet.
Many of the veterans stood stiffly, leaning on canes or loved ones, as they saluted in the direction of the “missing” plane rising in a steep bank into the blue sky above the white cross.
As the Memorial Day ceremonies ended, audience members pressed forward onto the red-brick stairs below the cross.
One of the guests seated there found himself suddenly surrounded by cameras and people who just wanted to shake his hand. John Finn, who will be 99 years old this July, is the oldest living recipient of the Medal of Honor, the United States military’s highest honor. Standing beneath the cross with two other Medal of Honor recipients ” Richard Pittman and Robert Modrzjewski ” Finn was witty and sharp as he shook hands and fielded questions from reporters and members of the public.
Coleman, who was also mobbed, may not have noticed but would probably have been pleased to see that his point was made. Many, but not all, of America’s heroes are dead, and for a few moments this Memorial Day, a few of the living were treated with a public show of the appreciation that they deserve for their sacrifice.
