This was sent to me by a buddy... Kopp was from my old unit and current unit of our long lost brother Tony W. (Shocktroop)...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03433.html

The Heart of a Hero Beats On
'The Worst Thing That Could Happen' Becomes Another's Chance to Live

By Mark Berman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 8, 2009


Cpl. Benjamin Kopp gave his life. And then he saved one.

An Army Ranger who had been on his third tour of duty, Kopp was buried Friday at Arlington National Cemetery. Sadly, it's a familiar story: a young man dead before his time, shot by unnamed enemies on the other side of the world.

But this time, there was a renewed life, too. Kopp wanted to be an organ donor. And after he died, his heart was transplanted into a family member's friend who had a rare form of congenital heart disease.

"How can you have a better heart?" said a grateful Judy Meikle, 57, of Winnetka, Ill., who is still recovering from the surgery. "I have the heart of a 21-year-old Army Ranger war hero beating in me."

Kopp's mother, Jill Stephenson of Rosemount, Minn., said that in addition to her son's heart, doctors removed his kidneys, pancreas and liver for transplant.

"It helps my sorrow; it eases my pain. It really does," Stephenson said. "I know that Ben wanted to help save lives . . . and it really prolongs Ben's life and honors his memory so much and honors me in that we could save other lives."

Kopp had served two tours of duty in Iraq when he left this spring for Afghanistan. On July 10, his unit attacked a Taliban safe haven in Helmand province, according to the 75th Ranger Regiment. The fight lasted several hours, resulting in the deaths of more than 10 Taliban fighters, but Kopp was shot in the leg.

He was flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany before being transferred to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the District.

"Initially, it was really comforting to have him be there" on U.S. soil, Stephenson said. "And then it was tough to see him in that condition. . . . He looked like a big strong guy. But he was full of tubes and cords and wires."

The doctors at Walter Reed raised the possibility of organ donation with Stephenson, but she said there was never much question that it would happen. Kopp had talked about it and indicated his preference both on his driver's license and in his living will with the Rangers. And organ donation wasn't something new for the family.

"I lost a brother 27 years ago. He was only 11, and our family donated his organs," Stephenson said. "And I had that sitting in my heart all these years."

On July 18, Stephenson posted an online journal entry telling family and friends about Kopp's passing and said that they were going to donate his organs.

Maria Burud, Stephenson's first cousin in Chicago, had been following Kopp's condition on the Web site. What occurred next was happenstance.

Burud and Meikle are friends who had worked together in the 1980s. Burud knew that Meikle needed a heart transplant, and Stephenson happened to see her cousin's message in time.

Stephenson had been told that the family could designate an organ recipient if the person was eligible for a transplant. At the time, Stephenson didn't think she knew anyone on the eligibility list.

"It's a pretty unusual coincidence that somebody knows somebody who needs a heart," said Dr. Michael Shapiro, chair of the Organ Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing ethics committee.

Meikle knew it might not work out, that Kopp's heart might not be a match. "It's a million-to-one shot," she said. It had taken her seven months to get on the eligibility list because she needed to build up a tolerance for heparin, a drug used to prevent blood clots during heart surgery. But she got a call later that day from Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

In the early hours of July 20 –– two days after Kopp died –– Meikle had her transplant surgery at Northwestern. She is resting at home in Winnetka, a Chicago suburb. She was on the heart transplant waiting list for 77 days, less than a third of the national average time. (Across the country there were 2,861 candidates on the waiting list for a heart transplant as of July 31, the latest data available from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.)

"Ben and Jill were so courageous that something good came out of something that was the worst thing that could happen to someone," Meikle said. "I'm just the luckiest woman alive."

At Arlington on Friday, Kopp's friends and family gathered on the southern side of Section 60, where many of the fallen from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. Among the mourners were Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Secretary of the Army Pete Geren and Minnesota Sen. Al Franken (D), who is from St. Louis Park, the same town as Kopp's mother.

Kopp's mother and father, Duane Kopp, were handed folded flags. Stephenson clutched her flag as her boyfriend, Pat Vos, tried to console her. Kopp's father slowly ran his hands over the blue material dotted with white stars.

Several Rangers from Kopp's unit had come up from Fort Benning on Thursday. "They're Ben's brothers. Those are his brothers-in-arms, and those guys are all very shook up about losing Ben," Stephenson said. "They've all sworn that I've gained them as sons now."

As the funeral ended, they lined up to greet their comrade's parents, a series of uniformed men in tan berets, bowing as they offered hands and hugs from aching hearts.




Obit:
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.

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.
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, 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 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, Parachutist Badge and the Ranger Tab. Kopp was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal.

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

As a Ranger, Corporal Benjamin S. 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.

Godspeed my brother! RLTW!

Eric you just don't know bro. This was a good friend of mine as well as his Dad. It was a sad day when we got the news of him getting hit. A sadder day to hear of his passing. Yes the Flag came down to half mast that day. It seems to stay there lately. In the last few years I have lost many a friend and have gone to to many funerals. You guys hear me say I don't sweat the small stuff. ITs because I am to busy dealing with the stuff that really matters. This man served with honor, pride and duty. To God, family and Country. It is young men like this that make this Country great.
You guys just don't know how much it pisses me off to have someone running down or pissing on the USA. If you don't like it get the hell out! Sad part is I know he will not be the last. I pray that it is. but really this dance is just getting started.
Be sure you keep praying for all our men and women as they fight for us all over the world. They need all the Angels they can standing before them with shield and swords ready. To fight the good fight. It is time for people to wake up and see this for what it is. A fight between good and evil. A fight to be free. A fight of Christains aganst Muslin. Now forgive me while I go cry a bit more. I thought I had it all out for the week.

Wow. Sadness, pride, and hope all rolled into one. Sadness for the loss of a life cut way too short, pride in Ben and all like him in the military for what they are doing and sacrificing for our freedoms each and every day, and hope that this is but one example of what is good and righteous in this country and that collectively we are strong enough to overcome the evil that we face from inside and outside this great country.

Sorry to hear this one hit so close to home Win...

Guys my heart goes out to friends and family. I wish that everyone in this country would truly know what is given for them to live the life they live. I for one know and thank god for people like Cpl Kopp.

Hooah Win, HOOAH!
The only relief in all this is that his heart lives on and saved the life of his families friend... also, his other organs that saved other lives. THIS is why I stress to everyone to be an organ donor. Hell, you don't need them anymore, why not save someone's life in your death?
Any brother form the 3rd is still a brother which is why it's close to home for me. Hearing he died from a leg wound (femoral artery most likely) brings back spine-chilling memories of a young corporal I met when I was being discharged by the name of Jamie Smith... he was the one who's death was portrayed in Blackhawk Down. Great kid... if I could access my old harddrive, I'd put up a pic I took of him back in early 93 with him and this wild puppy he tamed and made his (one of the many orphan dogs around Ft. Benning). Man, that kid could charm the buzzards off a carcass!
But anyway, KOPP... not just a brother but died the same way another brother did. At least KOPP's brought life out of death and that's the least we can thank G-d for, right?
No... war... this war... all war... long from over. It's our nature. As long as there is government and religion we will have war. Like crossing a busy street... it's a risk in life we all take.
Godspeed Cpl Kopp and bless you for your sacrifice.

RLTW!
BTW, the title I put on this thread... "EARN THIS"... from Saving Private Ryan. Irony, it was on earlier this evening. Watched it AGAIN... still choked up at the end. "Did I live a good life? Was I a good man?" G-ddamn!
EARN THIS!

UPDATE!
Dig what I found in the news yesterday...
http://wcco.com/local/Woman.Receives.He ... 22173.html

Woman Receives Heart From Soldier Killed In War

A Minnesota soldier killed in Afghanistan is living on in other ways. Army Ranger Corporal Ben Kopp was mortally wounded during a fight with the Taliban.

At his funeral in Rosemount, Corporal Kopp was remembered as someone who always looked out for others. He saved the lives of six of his fellow Rangers while losing his own in Afghanistan. But even after his death, Ben Kopp isn't done being a hero.

"Once it was determined that Ben wouldn't survive we began working with the transplant team. We were able to donate all his organs to people in need," said his mom Jill Stephenson.

His heart went to a 57-year-old woman in Chicago named Judy Meikle.

"The surgeon came out after the surgery and said 'Judy, you have a great heart. Not a good heart, a great heart,'" Meikle said.

In a sense, she now has the heart of a soldier. And Wednesday, she finally got to meet the mother of the man who saved her life. Judy and Ben's mother Jill have formed a bond over the Internet and on the phone, and met for the first time at an organ donation conference in Dallas. There were tears of sadness and of joy.

"It's beating fast. He can tell you are here," Meikle told Stephenson after they embraced.

It is the first of what promises to be many meetings, but it is also a reunion between a mother and part of the son she lost.

"There was never any hesitation on his part and we agreed that if it is our time to go and we have good organs we should let someone else use them," Stephenson said.

Meikle said she got her color back and had warm hands and feet for the first time in years after receiving Ben's heart. She also has developed a taste for green beans, which were Ben's favorite vegetable.

In all, 75 people have received Ben's tissues and organs.



I'm tearing up as I type this...
Fuck, even in death this HERO saves lives!
Do they sing songs of HIS sacrifice, service and heroism? Do they for any of the others? Do you see kids being told to sing "CORPORAL BEN KOPP... MMmm Mmmm Mmmm"?
That's what's FUCKED with this pathetic nation... we worship celebrity and the cult of personality who gain fame and power through manipulation, political fucking, pandering and thuggery instead of REAL HEROES who sacrifice selflessly.
Too many great men have died so fuckin puppets like our clown in chief can pitch a shithole like Chicago for a host city for the Olympics instead of fuckin concentrating on maybe fulfilling the Constitutional obligation as commander in chief to fuckin talk with the commanding general in a fucking war we are in, HELLO?
No, it's alright because while the AmeriKan population gets sick of this clowns shit and want to send him the way of other socialist assclowns like Carter, leftist organizations like ACORN and SEIU are organizing to keep him in office with voter fraud and general thuggery, meanwhile REAL heroes die in foreign llands unnoticed by the media as they are too busy describing that "tingling feeling running down their leg" when they watch "The ONE" fleece AmeriKa out of our freedom and liberty.
At least the REAL HERO Kopp saved or bettered some 75 lives in his death.

Yes Sir! I'm not a soldier, but I have friends who are. After reading this all I can say is this is the true definition of a hero and an angel, I have always respected all military personell and hope to loose the rest of this weight so I can enlist and honor and live on for what this soldier stood for.

Thank you for your service Cpl.Kopp & God speed and God bless to you and yours.