Ant1942 Posted June 6, 2019 Share #1 Posted June 6, 2019 Hello everyone, to commemorate this historic celebration of the 75th anniversary of the D Day landings, I would like to show you all a uniform I obtained 6 months ago. It belonged to a D Day veteran from the 1st ID. His name was Frank T Kopchack, a veteran of the North Africa and Sicily Campaigns, he received a bronze star for "heroic achievement in connection with military operations against the enemy in Normandy France, 6 June 1944". From the information I obtained, the 3rd Bn HQ company of the 16th Inf were among the first to land at Fox Green Section of the beach at Omaha between 0630 to 0700. No doubt that Kopchack saw a lot of his buddies die on the beach that day and while I do not have the info about his 2 purple hearts, I believe one of them could have been in connection with D Day. I would like to honor Kopchack by showing his uniform to all of you. It is because of men like Kopchack that we have our basic freedoms and live in a world free of tyranny and oppression. He was born in Cuyahoga OH in 1914 but tragically passed away in 1967 from a heart attack. Link to post Share on other sites
Geoff Posted June 7, 2019 Share #2 Posted June 7, 2019 Hi Frank, thanks for sharing this Veteran's jacket and story with us. If you want to try and pursue information about Mr. Michael's two wounds/Purple Hearts you might contact Geoff Gentillini at Golden Arrow Research. He has been able to find medical-related records on several Veterans he researched for me. Some of the records include initial aid station notes about time and place of wounding, hospital notes, awarding of Purple Heart medal while in hospital...some really detailed stuff. Worth a try if you're interested in learning more! Link to post Share on other sites
Geoff Posted June 7, 2019 Share #3 Posted June 7, 2019 By the way, I am not related to Geoff at Golden Arrow Research, we just share the same first name and a similar passion for history! Link to post Share on other sites
MPoorthuis Posted June 25, 2019 Share #4 Posted June 25, 2019 Hello, if you are looking for more information about this soldier, please feel free to contact us at info@16thinfantry.com Link to post Share on other sites
Ant1942 Posted June 25, 2019 Author Share #5 Posted June 25, 2019 Definitely will do, I contacted Geoff from golden arrow research and found out more about him, any additional help would be greatly obliged Link to post Share on other sites
katieony Posted June 26, 2019 Share #6 Posted June 26, 2019 Thank you for sharing his story and images of his uniform! Mike Link to post Share on other sites
Ant1942 Posted June 26, 2019 Author Share #7 Posted June 26, 2019 Well I found out he was wounded in 43 in N Africa by shrapnel to the left thigh/upper buttocks, then the second time was in August 44 when he again was wounded by shrapnel again by a mortar shell. A majority of his record was destroyed unfortunately but it was enlightening to see a little bit more about him and where he won the purple hearts Link to post Share on other sites
Trapper1873 Posted April 2 Share #8 Posted April 2 Very cool indeed Link to post Share on other sites
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