CENTER FOR U.S. WAR
VETERANS' ORAL HISTORIES

Gold Star Families

Benjamin S. Kopp

Gold Star Mother Oral History Interview
US Army, 75th Ranger Regiment
Date: August 19, 2024
Narrator: Jill Stephenson
Interviewers: Carol Fowler, Katherine Gleason
Summarizer: Katherine Gleason
Veterans History Project

Summary

Ben Kopp

Jill Stephenson is the mother of Corporal Ben Kopp, who died on July 18th, 2009, as a result of wounds sustained on July 10th, 2009, in Afghanistan. Kopp served in the 75th Ranger Regiment and was the recipient of numerous honors including the Army Achievement Medal with two awards, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Parachutist Badge, the Ranger Tab, the Bronze Star with Valor, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Purple Heart Medal.

Stephenson raised Kopp as a single mother in Minnesota, where he had an active and adventurous childhood. Stephenson describes the summers spent at her grandparent’s cabin, where Kopp learned to catch and clean fish, and partake in other outdoor activities. From a young age, Kopp revered his great-grandfather in particular, who he called Ay-Yi. Stephenson recalls that Kopp was about seven years old when he first took notice of Ay-Yi’s World War II memorabilia, including a Purple Heart Medal and a Bronze Star with Valor, which he earned during his time in service. This had a strong impact on Kopp, as Stephenson recounts. Kopp had a great admiration for Ay-Yi and his service, and also saw him as a strong family leader and role model.

Unfortunately, in April of 2001, Ay-Yi passed away and just a few months later, the September 11th terrorist attacks killed thousands of Americans. Stephenson recalls this marked a turning point in Kopp’s life, as he viewed September 11th as a mockery of his great-grandfather’s service. At the same time, Kopp read the book Black Hawk Down, where he learned about the heroism of the Army Rangers. In the fall of his senior year, Kopp enlisted in the US Army.

Kopp attended One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, now known as Fort Moore, in 2006, and went on to complete the Ranger Indoctrination Program. Within seven months, he fulfilled his goal of becoming an Army Ranger, joining the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and later graduating from Ranger School. Kopp deployed three times during his three years of service, twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan.

During his deployments, Stephenson states, “I didn’t allow myself to worry,” and tapped into her strong faith for support. Although she couldn’t know where Kopp was going, she recounts that she oversaw his bank account while he was deployed and was able to see when he made ATM withdrawals. She explains this brought her comfort that Kopp was alive.

Before his last deployment to Afghanistan, Kopp came home on leave and told Stephenson that he would be going into a combat “hot zone.” Stephenson recalls that Kopp was not looking forward to this deployment, and days before he left for Afghanistan, he came home one last time Mother’s Day weekend of 2009. Stephenson thinks he had a gut feeling that something was going to happen.

Last picture taken of Stephenson and Kopp.

Kopp deployed to Afghanistan, and on July 1st, Kopp and Stephenson talked to each other for the last time over the phone. Stephenson recalled, “There was a distance in his voice, like he was really processing what was going on there…It was as ugly and bad and nasty as they had anticipated.” Nine days later, Stephenson got a phone call that Kopp had been shot by a sniper and they were still waiting for him to wake up from surgery. She states, “That was the day that everything changed.”

On July 10th, in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan, a team of snipers was pinned down by a Taliban sniper. As a Gun Team Leader, Kopp came forward and was able to save the snipers, as well as three riflemen. In the process, Kopp was shot in the leg and promptly treated in the field. After applying two tourniquets to stop hemorrhaging, he was carried for an hour back to a forward operating base and medevacked to a hospital to undergo surgery. While in recovery, Kopp went into cardiac arrest. At the same time, the oxygen tank he was breathing from was empty! In order to get his heart started again, medical personnel performed a thoracotomy and were able to revive him. However, while in recovery, Kopp’s brain began to swell from the lack of oxygen during cardiac arrest. He was brought to Landstuhl, Germany, before arriving stateside at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. There, Kopp was declared brain dead and passed away on July 18th, 2009.

Heart recipient Judy Meikle.

A few days before Kopp died, on July 15th, Stephenson was asked if she would consider donating Ben’s organs. She states, “I said absolutely. No hesitation.” A few decades earlier in 1982, Stephenson’s brother was tragically killed in a car accident at age eleven, and his organs were donated. Kopp grew up hearing the story of his uncle and had signed up to be an organ donor. In fact, a direct donation was made for Kopp’s heart to Judy Meikle, a family friend. Stephenson recalls the donation was a “miracle” and describes her feelings after receiving the news the heart was a match: “It’s equal parts joy and sorrow.” Kopp’s kidneys and liver were also donated.

Following Kopp’s death, funerals were held in Minnesota and at Arlington National Cemetery, where Kopp is buried. The day of Kopp’s funeral in Minnesota, Stephenson recalls that she returned home after the service and noticed a moth on the wall. As she went upstairs to her bedroom and switched on the light, she realized the moth had followed her. Stephenson explains that the moth stayed beside her bed stand all night, and moths have become Kopp’s signature sign. She states, “Moths have followed me all over the country.” Stephenson also describes the term Benergy, coined by one of Kopp’s school friends, which she defines as anything inspirational that she feels Kopp’s energy attached to.

Ben Kopp

Stephenson has shared her and Kopp’s story on many platforms, stating, “When I tell his story, I keep his spirit alive.” She organized charity events like the Ben Kopp Memorial Ride and recently started the Ben Kopp Memorial Fund, a nonprofit organization. Stephenson is currently working on a book and a movie about her and Kopp’s lives. She is also an accomplished public speaker, certified grief coach, and nondenominational minister. Stephenson believes that one of the greatest gifts Kopp gave her was the ability to tell their story with “strength and courage and grace.”

Stephenson concludes her interview by sharing Ben’s message to future generations: “trust your gut, respect your elders, love your country.” Stephenson also had a message of her own: “Trust God, find the light in the dark situations, and know that everything is going to be okay.”

Additional Resources:

Obituary / Burial

Biography

Benergy

The Origin of Benergy

Kopp-Etchells Effect

Organ Donor

Memorials

Memorial Fund

Ben Kopp Memorial Fund