President Chris opened the meeting at noon and Kathi Fuhrman gave the pledge and prayer.
ATTENDANCE: 22 members attended in-person and 10 virtually. Guests included prospective members Steve Plumly, & Mirna Wildasin; Judy Jodice, wife of Ralph Jodice; some students of the month.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Chris Helt - help needed - please contact Rick McKee to sign up for Pledge & Prayer.
- Tammy Miller , Windy Hill - we need some members to help plant a flower garden here in Hanover.
- Karen Nelson - Kiwanis Club is celebrating their 100th anniversary by constructing a pavilion at Moul Field.
- Liz Johnides - The Public House at The Markets At Hanover will celebrate their grand opening on May 22 from 12:00 noon to 10:00 pm. Proceeds will benefit Roots For Boots.
- Chris Helt - Rick McKee is out of the hospital and recovering well. We expect to see him soon at our meetings.
PROGRAM: Ralph Jodice - Finding Captain Troy Cope
Ralph delivered a moving, at times emotional, program telling the story about recovering and bringing home the remains of fighter pilot, Troy Cope, after being shot down Sept 16, 1952 in North Korea. Capt Cope flew an F-86 Sabre aircraft in the 555 Squadron. Ralph's story emphasized the lengths that the US will go to in order to bring home our fallen servicemen. The US is one of the few countries who are so adamant about bring our servicemen home.
Ralph shared that Capt Cope, who was an airman in WWII and volunteered to enter the Korean conflict, was shot down in 1952. The hunt started when an American businessman spotted dog tags in a museum in N Korea. A long process ensued including a cursory investigation, which led to an extensive excavation on-site, confirmation of remains, and ending with a ceremony in Plano Texas which brought a sense of closure to the family. Ralph was personally involved in the process while assigned as a military attache to China in 2004/05. It also happened that Capt Cope flew for the same squadron, the 555th, that Ralph was a member of in later years.
Please see the Sequence of Events below to get a better understanding of the lengthy process involved to bring Capt Cope home to his family and country.
NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM: PEG SENNETT - SELLING THREADS ON-LINE
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
16 September 1952 while engaged with 9 MiG-15s and out of ammunition, Capt Troy Cope is last seen going into the clouds below by his flight lead, Capt Karl Dittmer…communications are lost
1995 while on business in Dandong, China on the north shore of the Yalu River, an American business man visits a Korean War Museum and sees Capt Cope’s dogtags
He copies the info and passes it to the American Embassy in Beijing, China
The Defense Attache Office in Beijing passes the info to the Joint POW / MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), Hawaii
1998 an archivist searching Russian records discovers a Russian pilot report stating he shot down an F-86 on 16 Sept 1952 in the vicinity of Dandong
This is the last sighting of Capt Cope
The US determined more proficient Russian pilots were flying a larger majority of the North Korean missions
For the next 6 years, the United States puts consistent pressure on China to allow us to visit the site to search for the remains
Early 2004 a small investigation team from JPAC is allowed to visit Dandong and interviews an eye witness
The eye witness states; “[In Sep 1952], I helped dig the hole and pushed the airplane with the pilot’s body into it.”
May-June 2004 a larger team is allowed to return to Dandong and conduct an excavation of the crash site
Aircraft and personal remains are found…DNA from Troy’s family yields a match
February 2005, DPMO Secretary and a small team come to China to visit Dandong and make the formal announcement; We found Capt Troy Cope and his remains will be repatriated to the United States for final resting
During an office meeting with one of the team members, I ask what squadron did he fly with…the response is; “the 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron”
I tell him; “This is the same squadron I commanded as an F-15E Fighter Squadron from 1994-1996”…over 40 years later
Barbara Starr from CNN does a documentary about why the USA will go to such lengths to bring our fallen home
May 2005, Capt Troy Cope is laid to rest in Plano, TX
335th Fighter Squadron from Seymour Johnson AFB, NC conducts the missing man fly by in the F-15E Strike Eagle
Upon return to the squadron, they move Troy’s name on the wall of honor from MIA to KIA
1995 while on business in Dandong, China on the north shore of the Yalu River, an American business man visits a Korean War Museum and sees Capt Cope’s dogtags
He copies the info and passes it to the American Embassy in Beijing, China
The Defense Attache Office in Beijing passes the info to the Joint POW / MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), Hawaii
1998 an archivist searching Russian records discovers a Russian pilot report stating he shot down an F-86 on 16 Sept 1952 in the vicinity of Dandong
This is the last sighting of Capt Cope
The US determined more proficient Russian pilots were flying a larger majority of the North Korean missions
For the next 6 years, the United States puts consistent pressure on China to allow us to visit the site to search for the remains
Early 2004 a small investigation team from JPAC is allowed to visit Dandong and interviews an eye witness
The eye witness states; “[In Sep 1952], I helped dig the hole and pushed the airplane with the pilot’s body into it.”
May-June 2004 a larger team is allowed to return to Dandong and conduct an excavation of the crash site
Aircraft and personal remains are found…DNA from Troy’s family yields a match
February 2005, DPMO Secretary and a small team come to China to visit Dandong and make the formal announcement; We found Capt Troy Cope and his remains will be repatriated to the United States for final resting
During an office meeting with one of the team members, I ask what squadron did he fly with…the response is; “the 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron”
I tell him; “This is the same squadron I commanded as an F-15E Fighter Squadron from 1994-1996”…over 40 years later
Barbara Starr from CNN does a documentary about why the USA will go to such lengths to bring our fallen home
May 2005, Capt Troy Cope is laid to rest in Plano, TX
335th Fighter Squadron from Seymour Johnson AFB, NC conducts the missing man fly by in the F-15E Strike Eagle
Upon return to the squadron, they move Troy’s name on the wall of honor from MIA to KIA