Copied this off Michele Malkin’s blog-
He gave his dad a hero and his country his life.
On Sunday, Marine Cpl. Justin Cooper of Eupora was killed in combat in Afghanistan.
Cooper’s father, Alan Cooper, said he was told by Marine officials who visited his home Sunday night that the 22-year-old died after he was shot in the chest, just above his body armor, during a fire fight.
“I never knew so many people could break down and cry over the phone when you tell them something like that,” Alan Cooper said as he tried not to sob.
“He had more friends than anyone I know. He was daddy’s hero; now he’s everyone’s hero.”
Being a Marine was something Cooper had always dreamed about, his father said.
After he graduated from Eupora High School in 2004, Justin Cooper attended Holmes Community College for one semester before enlisting in the Marines. It was Christmas Eve when he told his father he was going to be a Marine.
“I remember telling him he needed to have a lot of thought before doing this. He felt his country needed him at the time more than he needed school,” Alan Cooper said.
He served two tours in Iraq, rising quickly through the ranks. Alan Cooper said he was told his son was one of the best scout snipers the Marines had seen in decades.
God bless this young Marine, and his family. We are blessed to have brave men like this stand in harms way to protect our way of life, and our freedoms. Its men like this Marine for which we have to have a Memorial day holiday. So while you’re enjoying your freedom and day off from work, think of this Marine, and his family. And say Thank You.
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/20/he-was-daddys-hero-now-hes-everyones-hero/
We’ll be thinking of Justin Cooper, and his family, on Memorial Day and thanking him in spirit for what he did for our country.
So many precious young service men and women have given all of us our sense of stability, while they sacrifice their own.
Thank you to Justin and all the other Justins from the past and present. We shall never forget you.
This is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I wish their family strenght.