Wednesday Hero: Cpl. Benjamin S. Kopp

Ben
Kopp has been a fighter since the day he was born. When he was born his
mother was given morphine to stop her labor so the doctors could
deliver him via a cesarean section. But it caused his heart rate to
slow and when he was born he wasn’t breathing. But he recovered to the
amazement of everyone. “Ben has always been up for a challenge,” said
his mother, Jill Stephenson. “He came into the world a fighter.”

On
July 10, 2009, Cpl. Benjamin Kopp was wounded in the Helmand province
of Afghanistan. He was hit in the popliteal artery in his knee and the
loss of blood caused him to go into cardiac arrest on the operating
table at a battalion surgical center. As a result of his injuries, Cpl.
Kopp developed swelling in his brain and was put into an induced coma
to try and save his life. But he died on July 18.

But his
service didn’t end with his passing. Upon his death, by his own desire,
his organs were donated to people in need, saving their lives.

“Please
continue to say prayers for all of the men and women who so proudly
serve our country,” Stephenson wrote online. “Ben had a deep love of
country and has just left a legacy of heroism for all of us to cherish.
Be as proud of him as I was as his mother.”