Correspondent photo / Bill Koch Charles “Chuck” Cooper, 82, of Austintown, served two years in the Army He attended supply school and became a paratrooper. He is at his home with his wife, Patricia, and son, Chuck Jr.

EDITOR’S NOTE: To suggest a veteran for this series, which runs weekly through Veterans Day, email Metro Editor Marly Reichert at mreichert@tribtoday.com or call her at 330-841-1737.

By BILL KOCH

Correspondent

AUSTINTOWN — When asked why he enlisted in the Army, Chuck Cooper replied, “I don’t know what made me decide to go in there. I must have just wanted to get out of here. I’m glad I went though.”

He eventually admitted, “I joined because I didn’t want to go to jail.”

The Austintown native quit school at age 16 and went to work for a landscaper. But two years of drinking and fast driving left him with two choices — jail or the Army — so he chose the latter.

In 1962, Cooper went to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for basic training. He attended supply school and then was sent to St. Andre in Evreux, France.

“There were paratroopers there, so I wanted to be a paratrooper,” Cooper said.

He attended jump school in Wiesbaden, Germany, and then returned to St. Andre in his new role.

He executed 24 jumps, one of which caused injury.

“I hurt my back. I hit a runway backwards. You fall pretty fast in those T-10’s. I think it’s 15 to 16 feet a second when you hit the ground.”

His wife, Patricia, said he still goes to the VA Clinic for treatment on his back.

When not jumping, he would pack cargo chutes for others. He noted the level of trust the jumpers needed to have in the packers.

In 1964, he was in Cyprus for about six weeks.

“The Turks and the Greeks were fighting. The Greeks wanted to invade that island and the U.S. was protecting Turkey. They kept us busy in preparation for an attack that ultimately wasn’t needed when Greece relented. The U.S. does everything — honest to God, they straighten a lot out,” Cooper said.

When John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, memorial services took place at military posts around the world. Cooper was chosen to be an Honor Guard for the ceremony.

“I liked JFK. It was a shock to everybody,” he said.

Cooper said watching the Summer Olympics on TV has brought back memories, as his base was 35 miles from Paris. He visited several times, “got in trouble there,” climbed the Eiffel Tower, and experienced the good and the bad parts of the city.

He also toured Sainte Mere Eglise, where during a World War II invasion an American paratrooper named John Steele was caught in a church steeple. Steele played dead and was eventually able to escape, serving as an inspiration 20 years later for someone with the same job.

One of his most disturbing memories was witnessing racism as a black man was attempting suicide.

“I was on guard duty that night in the barracks. I came through and he was up on the foot locker with a rope around the heater duct and was getting ready to put it around his neck. I told him to get down. The squad leader was lying in the bunk just watching him and he said, ‘Hey Coop, why did you let him go?'”

Cooper still wonders how the squad leader could have been so callous.

But he generally liked his fellow soldiers. He used to communicate with some of them until his car was vandalized.

“They stole all the information — the addresses and everything in my glove compartment,” Cooper said, noting he has since lost touch with everyone.

“People get married and they get jobs and scatter all over the place,” he said.

However, he does enjoy sharing stories with fellow veterans at the VA clinic.

Cooper returned home in 1964, but as he was about to get married, he received a letter by mistake calling him into service. The clerical error was straightened out and for the next 35 years he worked at Copperweld Steel. He was a grinder, chainman and piler.

“Every damn thing, I did there.” His favorite job was operating the crane. “I ran it remotely from the floor. I wasn’t in the cab.”

In 1999, Cooper had a heart attack and retired soon afterward. But that didn’t slow him down too much. For eight years, he ran a remodeling business along with his son, Chuck, Jr. Prior to COVID-19, they took an annual family trip to Myrtle Beach, accompanied by as many as six dogs at a time. He was an avid outdoorsman, trapping muskrats and raccoons — “anything I could catch,” and he loved to hunt. He finally stopped when his doctors told him, “What are you going to do if you need to run? You’ll have to go up a tree.”

Cooper said he recommends the service for young people who consider enlisting.

“There’s a lot of stuff to pick up and learn, and you get to travel,” he said.

Noting that he obtained his GED and acquired skills, as well as some discipline, his wife, Patricia said being in the Army turned his life around.

The military saved him,” she said.

“I don’t know how,” Cooper joked.