World War II Honoree

Richard J. Cooper

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Amsterdam, New York

Honored By

Michael Lynett

His poor vision would have excluded him but his strong desire to serve led him to sneak into the recruiting office and memorize the eye chart. He became a captain of the ski patrol in the 83rd Company of the 10th Mountain Division. He was awarded a Bronze Star for leading his company in a rapid advance crossing Lago de Garda in Italy where they took Mussolini's villa. Mussolini fled just prior to their arrival, was caught by Italian partisans, and the war ended two days later. An Alpini cap was given to him by an Italian lieutenant.