Obit for KOOPMAN, Henry Martin (b.1919 d.1943?), Murray Co., MN ========================================================================= USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. FileFormat by Terri--MNArchives Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Judy Clarke Submitted: November 2004 ========================================================================= (This article is from a relative's scrapbook. The name and date of the paper are unknown.) "HOLD MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR PFC. KOOPMAN - Fulda People Pay Final Tribute to First Son To Be Killed in This War - Memorial services for the late Pfc. Henry M. Koopman at which a large concourse of sorrowing relatives and friends paid their last tribute of love and honored him as a faithful soldier who gave his life in the service of his country, were held Sunday morning in St. Paul's Lutheran church, with the Rev. O.A. Soeldner officiating. Henry, who was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Koopman, was the first Fulda man to lose his life in the present conflict. At Sunday morning's service, Rev. Soeldner took as his test words from Samuel 3:18, "It is good to Him." He said that the occasion brought home to everyone the increasing price in blood and tears we must pay for the preservation of our ideals as our young men give their lives gallantly and courageously in defense of those ideals, and the anguish and suffering which those at home must endure in the loss of these loved ones. He urged a patient Christian, submission to the will of God, and said that the family should seek their true and sustaining comfort from the eternal word of God. He paid tribute to the virtues and qualitites of character of the deceased, remembering his active religious life in the community, and he commended his parents for their instruction and example with their children so he had his own faith and trust in God when alone in a foreign land. To the community Rev. Soeldner expressed the belief that war is the means at hand for an ultimate purpose of God, and that a country so highly blessed as ours should restrain its vice and crime which have gained a hold in the country and return to righteous living for the continued blessing of God. Even as a faithful soldier of the government he was honored for his completion of his work for his country and for his community, so, too, Rev. Soeldner expressed the belief that he had earned the corwn of faith and life eternal through an exemplary life. The congregation sang the hymns, "For Me to Live Is Jesus," "A Pilgrim and a Stranger," and "Rock of Ages" and the choir sang one hymn, "Heaven Is My Home." The deceased was honored for his military service by the attendance of the members of Emil King Post of the American Legion is a body and after the religious service, A.W. Johnson, representing the Legion, read the military service record of the deceased, as that of a "comrade in arms," and Taps was sounded by Bruce Lloyd and Douglas Gits. Henry Martin Koopman was born in Belfast township May 4, 1919. He attended the district school and the Lutheran parochial school and also took a year of high school, after which he began helping on his father's farm, where he was employed until he was called for military service on April 7, 1941. He went first to Ft. Leavenworth for induction and from there was sent to Camp Claiborne, La., where he received his basic training. He was one of the first American convoys to leave for Ireland in the fall of 1942. At sea his ship was torpedoed and returned to the United States to leave again in a few weeks. He was in the invasion troops who landed in Africa and later went with the troops to Sicily and into Italy. After seeing continuous action for a number of weeks he spent some time in an American rest hospital in Africa and returned to active duty in Italy October 30. He was seriously wounded on November 1, and taken to a base hospital, where he died on November 17th. He is survived by his parents, five brothers, Wilbert, of Minneapolis, Marvin, of Willmar, Lester, Vernon and Adelbert, at home, and four sisters, Mrs. Jake Ommen, of Fulda; Mrs. Calvin Rupp, of Slayton; Wilma, of Minneapolis, and Lorraine, at home."