A Hero...A Friend...A Son...Justin Cooper

I was not sure what Charles was telling me yesterday morning through choking tears...I had to say "WHAT" several times before the true meaning of what he was saying surfaced. "Cooper was killed!"

Justin Cooper...Coop...as we affectionately referred to him, is a HERO. He desired to join the Marines to serve his country. We all watched as the young boy left a year after graduating high school at Eupora High School and returned a man.

He had served two tours in Iraq and was on his first to Afghanistan. Of course, we all felt...good, he will be safer there. WHAT WERE WE THINKING!??? Charles and I went to this HERO's house and hugged on his mom, Debra and his Dad, Allan. His picture in his dress blues smiled back at us. How do you comfort a mother who just lost her baby? Cry with her. Charles gulped back sobs as Allan shared what he knew. "I want to believe that he was gone immediatly without much pain. I bet his last thoughts were about us" I bet they were, too!

I spent most of the night with fond memories of the Friend he was to Brian (more like a brother), Brent, Cliff, Blake, Tom (A New Yorker, fellow marine who he introduced to Southern Hospitality during last Thanksgiving)...and hundreds more. He was such a likable young man. It will be hard to have a holiday meal without Coop stopping by...declining a plate of turkey and dressing upon arrival...but being talked into a plate before he left to go out with the guys. I can hear him say as he hugs me "Bye Ms Marilyn, I will see you soon!"

Last night visiting with Debra and Allan...I saw the son. Coop looks just like his mom. She shared a moment they had together the last time he was home. They agreed that they were the two "sane" members of the family...which caused Allan to ask...Well what about me??? A grin on his face. Leaving last night Allan asked for us to pray for them...he felt that was what will help them get through. And so, I ask you...Pray for Justin Cooper's family, friends, and fellow Marines.

We have lost another HERO.

Found On web in New York Paper

EUPORA, Miss. -- Family members said Marine Cpl. Justin Cooper of Eupora was killed Sunday in combat in Afghanistan.

Cooper's father, Alan Cooper, told The Clarion-Ledger newspaper that he was told by Marine officials who visited his home Sunday that the 22-year-old died after he was shot during a fire fight.
The U.S. Department of Defense has not confirmed the soldier's death.

After he graduated from Eupora High School in 2004, Justin Cooper attended Holmes Community College for one semester before enlisting in the Marines. He served two tours in Iraq.
Funeral arrangements are expected to be made later this week. His family has not been told when his body will arrive from overseas, the elder Cooper said.

Family members and friends are planning a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. Sunday at White Creek Lake in Eupora.

Cooper is one of more than 60 military members with strong ties to Mississippi killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since those conflicts began.

News:

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I want to thank Stacy as she documents the lives and deaths of our military sons.