Corporal Benjamin Stephen Kopp 3/75

[Ranger]

Died on July 18, 2009
Operation Enduring Freedom

Corporal Benjamin S. Kopp, was a rifleman assigned to 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga. He was born on Jan. 20, 1988, in Minneapolis, Minn.
Corporal Kopp was seriously wounded during a combat operation in southern Afghanistan, July 10. Kopp was medically evacuated through Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to Walter Reed Medical Center, Washington, D.C., where he died as a result of his wounds July 18. His unit had attacked into a Taliban safe haven where they fought a determined enemy from multiple directions for several hours, resulting in the killing of more than 10 Taliban fighters. Corporal Kopp was on his third deployment in support of the War on Terror with two previous deployments to Iraq.

After graduating from Rosemount High School, Corporal Kopp enlisted in the U.S. Army from his hometown of Rosemont, Minn., July 2006. He completed One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning Ga., as an infantryman. After graduating from the Basic Airborne Course there, he was assigned to the Ranger Indoctrination Program also at Fort Benning. He graduated from the Ranger Indoctrination Program and was then assigned to Company C, 3rd Bn., 75th Ranger Regiment June 2007 where he served as a Rifleman. His military education includes the Basic Airborne Course, Ranger Indoctrination Program, and the U.S. Army Ranger Course.

His awards and decorations include the Ranger Tab, Army Achievement Medal with two awards, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon and the Parachutist Badge. Corporal Kopp was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal.

Corporal Kopp is survived by his mother Jill Stephenson of Rosemont, Minn., and his father Duane Kopp of Minnetonka, Minn.

As a Ranger, Corporal Kopp distinguished himself as a member of the Army’s premier light­ infantry unit, traveled to all corners of the world in support of the Global War on Terrorism, and fought valiantly to “uphold the prestige, honor, and high ‘esprit de corps’” of the Ranger Regiment.

RIP Ranger Kopp
RLTW