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PURPLE HEART ADVISORY BOARD
FREEDOM IS NOT FREE is a mission-driven organization. The role of the Purple Heart
Advisory Board is to facilitate the best possible allocation of funds to serve the
mission. The Purple Heart Advisory Board is comprised of active duty and veteran
Purple Heart recipients and their survivors. The Board, made up of “those who have
been there,” determines how the funds are allocated in order to respond to those
most in need of support.
Members of the Purple Heart Advisory Board include:
Specialist Carl D. Frank, 101st Airborne, U.S. Army
1966-1968
Carl Frank grew up in South Bend, Indiana. He served with the 101st Airborne (Screaming
Eagles) 1st Brigade, 2nd Battalion, and 327th infantry in the Republic of South
Viet Nam during 1967-68. This elite paratrooper battalion distinguished itself as
having the longest continuous service of any combat unit in Viet Nam. Carl’s battalion
was on a “search and destroy” mission in Quang Tri Province when the paratroopers
encountered heavy fire from an entrenched North Vietnamese Army Division. On March
21, 1968 Carl led his comrades on a pre-dawn assault. As he was attempting to rescue
a fallen comrade, he was hit by an AK-47 round shattering a bone in his
right forearm just below the elbow. Although the paratroopers defeated the enemy,
the battle dragged on for several days and the 101st sustained heavy casualties. During
his hospital
stay, Carl was assigned to assist his fellow soldiers in the hospital’s
rehabilitation facility. Following his military service Carl earned B.S. degree in Business
Administration from Indiana University and then went on to complete an M.B.A. at
the University of Arizona. Carl is President of Insurance Ventures, Inc. and resides
with his wife, Nancy, two children and a grandchild in San Diego, California.
Colonel David W. Coffman, USMC
Col. Coffman grew up in Florida . He graduated cum
laude from Duke University and was commissioned a Marine Second Lieutenant through
the NROTC in May 1985. Col. Coffman assumed command of HMM-161 in August 2003 and
led the squadron during its 2004 deployment to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi
Freedom II, where they amassed over 3000 combat flight as the primary Casualty Evacuation
Squadron for 1 MEF. Col. Coffman was wounded in action on July 5, 2004 while flying
one of his squadron’s CH-46E helicopters on an Urgent CASEVAC mission in Central
Iraq. The flight was ambushed by insurgents firing small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.
He was injured when an AK-47 round fragmented off his body armor into
his shoulder and face. Col Coffman flew back to base and walked off the helicopter
to begin his own medical evacuation, returning to Iraq seven weeks later to bring
his squadron home. Under his leadership, HMM-161 received its second consecutive
CNO Safety Award and was recognized by the Marine Corps Aviation Assoc. as the Edward
C. Dyer Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron of the Year for 2004. Col. Coffman’s personal
decorations include two Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart, the Defense Meritorious
Service Medal, multiple Air Medals, as well as several other personal decorations
and numerous campaign and service awards. Col. Coffman resides in Mira Mesa, California
and is married to Jean Caudle.
Major Stephen H. Mount,USMC
Major Steve Mount, "Slade", grew up in Southern California and graduated from the University
of California, Riverside with a degree in Environmental Engineering in June 1996.
He attended Officers Candidate School and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant on December 6, 1996. In February, 2004 Major “Slade” was assigned to Hmm-166 (Rein) to deploy
as the 11th MEU ACE. Deployed to Al Asad, Iraq during the summer of 2004 he flew
combat and support sorties in support of the 11th MEU action until he was wounded
in action on August 5, 2004. Major Mount’s crew was directed to come back around
for a re-attack on enemy position when his aircraft was hit by multiple small arms
rounds. Major Mount remembers flying, having his head feel as if it were hit by
a baseball bat, then his eyes going totally dark. His co-pilot took control of the
aircraft, recovered them from a catastrophic pitch angle and crash-landed the aircraft
upright. The bullet had entered the aircraft from the left, passed through his helmet
visor just forward of his left eye and entered his head around his left tear duct,
it then passed behind the bridge of his nose and through his right eye before finally
exiting his right temple. His right eye was completely destroyed and removed. He
is currently assigned as the Executive Officer of Headquarters Squadron, Marine
Aircraft Group 39, Camp Pendleton, California. Major Mount recently completed an
assignment at The Naval Post-Graduate School in Monterey, California. Major Mount’s
personal decorations include the Purple Heart, Air Medal with combat “v” and Gold
Star, Strike/Flight Air Medal with numeral “7”. Captain Mount resides in Carlsbad,
California with his wife, Stephanie.
Sergeant Major Marcos Herrera, 101st Airborne
New Member – Bio coming soon.
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