Photo Provided Larry Barnes, left, commander of the St. Clairsville American Legion, recognizes Richard Cope as Veteran of the Month for April. Cope has a career of more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Richard Cope, the St. Clairsville American Legion Veteran of the Month for April, had a lengthy military career that took him to many different shores. He retired as a master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force with 21 years of service.

Born in St. Clairsville, he is the eighth child in a family of nine with five brothers and three sisters. He moved to Neff’s at an early age.

“I was a decent student but a better athlete. I was captain of the track team, lettering all four years in track. After graduating, I accepted a full scholarship with Montana State College,” he said. “Since ROTC was a requirement, I chose the Army. Marching in all kinds of weather, freezing cold, snow, rain was mandatory. It’s Montana, what did I expect? I saw that the Air Force guys were in their class studying. A lesson I remembered a few years later,” he said.

He would work in California before returning to Ohio.

“Within a few months of being in the valley, good ole Uncle Sam invited me to have a physical for the Army. Thinking that I am nearly blind in one eye and also color blind, I wouldn’t pass the exam,” he said. “Wrong, I passed.”

Cope still recalls some of his duties.

“This should have come with hazardous pay,” he said. “It was my duty to supervise five recruits to keep the latrines super clean at all times. This brought actual death threats from a few of the fellow recruits when the latrines were off-limits prior to inspection. I remember thinking, what did I do to deserve this? As the days went on things got better and I survived the threats of both the recruits and from the (training instructor) if the latrines didn’t pass inspection.”

His first assignment was supply duties in Columbus, but more hazardous service soon came up.

“I was beginning to think, ‘Hey, this Air Force life is pretty good!’ Then came the news that I was being assigned to Tan Sun Knut Air Base in Saigon, Vietnam,” he said.

At this point, Cope had married and the couple had their first child.

“So leaving at that time made it really tough,” he said.

“On July 1, 1964, I left forSaigon. … I had no idea where Vietnam was, so I looked on a map to find it was called French IndoChina as I knew it. I didn’t realize that when the French left, the USA took over the base. I wasn’t happy, but knew I had to go.”

The grim reality of the war was soon evident.

“One of my duties required me to pass by the mortuary (which I dreaded) and saw the body bags; at first there was only a few and then as the weeks, months passed I would cringe every time I passed because there were too many to count. I can’t explain the sorrow I felt. I thought of the families of these heroes and how they must feel. I thought of my wife and daughter and thanked God that it wasn’t my time yet.

“I did experience a few close calls myself,” he continued. “I vividly remember one time when I was going to pick up a small package at a hangar near the air terminal which was a half-mile from my office ‘The Tent.’ I decided to walk to the terminal and when I was almost there, a huge explosion occurred from the hangar I was going to. It knocked me to the ground. If I had driven a truck that day, I probably would’ve been in that hangar. I saw the roof blown off and debris everywhere and some troops killed and injured. I wasn’t physically injured, but it affected my mental state. I suffered from paranoia and anxiety attacks for several years afterward.”

Cope said many were not aware of post traumatic stress disorder at that time.

“In 1965, those suffering from these attacks weren’t treated for any injuries because they weren’t physical and there wasn’t a diagnosis associated to these symptoms,” he said.

“I was one of the lucky ones to get back unharmed, at least physically. As the weeks and months went on there was an increase in nighttime mortar attacks. In January ’65, I was sent on temporary duty to Bangkok, Thailand, in order to set up a system for receiving and delivery of our critical and essential radar items to northern radar sites in Thailand. These were critical to air crews flying missions over North Vietnam. Needless to say, I was ready to get away from there and a change of scenery.”

Cope also read of the growing number of U.S. troops in the area.

“While my time spent in Vietnam is truly unforgettable, it also made me aware of how lucky and proud I am to have been born and raised in the United States of America,” he said. “We lost over 58,000 American heroes.”

He earned “Pacific Airman of the Year” 1964-1965.

While in Saigon, he would decide to re-enlist for another four years. He and his family soon developed a love of travel, seeing Europe and much of the United States. They lived for some years in Hawaii, where their oldest daughter still lives.

While living in Hawaii, the Copes were a volunteer family who hosted Amerasian children in their homes to help them settle into the American culture.

“These were children fathered by American men,” he said. “We were named ‘Family of the Year’ by the Catholic Charities of Hawaii.”

Now a resident of his birthplace, St. Clairsville, again, Cope continues to value military service.

“I would recommend bringing back the draft and have every able-bodied male serve a minimum of two years of military duty. Escaping military duty because you “know the right people” shouldn’t be allowed. Serve your country and you’ll be better off for it. That’s my opinion! God bless our military men and women who give up so much to serve this beautiful country and keep it safe and free. God Bless America!”