|
 Through
the eyes
of
others,
Sgt.
David
Kopera
is a
remarkable
man who
saved
lives
and took
no
thought
for his
own.
On at
least
three
separate
occasions,
Sgt.
Kopera
and his
squad
were
engaged
by
deliberate
enemy
ambushes
in which
his
squad
received
hundreds
of
rounds
of
accurate
automatic
fire.
Two
ambushes
occurred
within
30
minutes.
During
the
barrage
of
rocket-propelled
grenades
and
automatic
weapons
fire
from the
insurgents,
a
Fallujah
woman
who was
an
innocent
bystander,
was
caught
in the
crossfire
and shot
in the
chest,
Kopera
recalled.
”Realizing
the risk
of going
after
the
woman
under
the
threat
of
sniper
fire,
Sergeant
Kopera
chose to
rescue
her,”
wrote
Griff
Jenkins,
who
spent
two
weeks
with the
Alpha
company
of the
1st
Battalion,
24th
Marines
on the
Fallujah
Peninsula
and has
firsthand
knowledge
of the
courage
and
sacrifice
of
Kopera
and his
Marines.
“The
fleeing
enemy
maintained
fire on
Kopera,
but he
successfully
evacuated
her (the
Fallujah
woman)
to a
Marine
hospital
unit,”
said
Jenkins.
The
injured
woman
was then
flown to
Baghdad
for
medical
treatment.
Tragically,
Kopera
was shot
in the
head by
a sniper
several
weeks
later on
Dec. 2,
2006. He
was
classified
as an
urgent
surgical casualty.
However, instead of exposing
his Marines to enemy fire to
treat him, he ran 50 meters
through the attack to link
up with
his
first
fire
team
leader
and
conduct
a battle
handover.
He was
later
evacuated
and
survived
because
of his
Kevlar
helmet
and
great
medical
care.
Although
Kopera
never
saw the
Fallujah
woman
who was
struck
again,
he said
he was
told she
made a
full
recovery
and
returned
home. He
also was
told
that
some of
the
local
tribes
distanced
themselves
from the
insurgency
and
became
more
helpful
to the
Marines
in the
area.
Kopera
believes
that by
saving
that
innocent
woman's
life, in
part,
his unit
was able
to build
trust
with the
local
leaders
and
demonstrate
their
commitment
to
security
in the
area.
“Words
cannot
describe
what it
is like
to bear
witness
to the
incredible
bravery
and true
grit of
our
troops,”
wrote
Jenkins.
“We
truly
have the
most
professional,
dedicated,
and
intelligent
military
on the
planet.”
Excerpt
from
Griff
Jenkins'
Griff
Notes
(12/22/2006)
via
Dept. of
Defense
Photo and information courtesy
of US
Marines /
Dept. of
Defense |
