Bio:C. C. 'Buck' Coffman
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Lt. Col. Clovis Clyde "Buck" Coffman, Jr. was born in New Orleans in 1931. He graduated from Craddock High School in Portsmouth, Virginia with the class of 1950. The son of a Marine Colonel, he had already enlisted in the Marines in 1949, and fought in Korea with the 1st Marine Division, spending 35 months in combat. He was wounded four times in battles that included the Inchon landing and Chosin River campaign.
He spent 40 months in combat in Vietnam, first as a sergeant and later as a first lieutenant after being awarded a battlefield commission. He served with the 3rd Force Recon Company, was awarded a Silver Star (and recommended for a Medal of Honor) for saving 21 Recon Marines caught in an ambush, along with other awards (listed later). He also wrote the Marine manual on reconnaissance, "Reconnaissance Marine". During this time, he also taught reconnaissance skills to Korean "Blue Dragon" Marines, training them for service in Vietnam.
Mr. Coffman retired as a colonel of the U.S. Marine Corps. He was a decorated and distinguished veteran who earned a Navy Cross in 1966; three Silver Stars; five Bronze Stars with with combat "V" (for valor); Airmedal with "V"; and seven Purple Hearts (four in Korea and three in Vietnam).
Mr. Coffman retired to Virginia Beach, where he died in 2001. In 2003, Fort Story, a joint Army/Navy Amphibious training base, built a new Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance School training building. This building was named the "Coffman training school" in honor of Clovis C. ‘‘Buck’’ Coffman.
Col. Coffman's father served in World War II. His daughter, Sheri Lynn Coffman, served in the USCG, and owns and operates Stingray Investigations in Virginia Beach, VA. His son is a lawyer in Virginia.
The connecting linkage verifying that the SF author is the same person as the marine legend:
- The marine legend was listed as an author . The same reference gives his birthdate as 12-12-1931.
- The "About the Author" in his collection "Spacedust One" (1979), begins with "Major C.C. "Buck" Coffman has spent more than half of his forty-seven years in the Marine Corps...". Note that this not only verifies that the author was a Marine, but verifies that his birth year is the same as the one listed for the Marine above.
The combination of this facts, and the somewhat unusual name, is very strong evidence that these two people are the same.
Dates of Birth and Death from Ref . Full name from .
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1. ^ Famous Marines web site.
2. ^ Virginian-Pilot obituary.
3. ^ Virginian-Pilot, June 20, 2003, as transcribed by Free Republic.