Austintown Army veteran chose military service over prison | News, Sports, Jobs

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 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 [email protected] or call her at 330-841-1737.

By BILL KOCH

correspondent

AUSTINTOWN — When asked why he joined the Army, Chuck Cooper replied, “I don't know what made me go there. I guess I just wanted to get out of here. But I'm glad I went.”

Finally, he admitted: “I joined because I didn’t want to go to prison.”

The Austintown native left school at 16 and began working as a landscape gardener. But after two years of drinking and driving too fast, his only choices were prison or the army, so he chose the latter.

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

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

He attended the jumping school in Wiesbaden and then returned to St. Andre in his new role.

He performed 24 jumps, one of which resulted in an injury.

“I hurt my back. I hit a runway backwards. You fall pretty fast in those T-10s. I think you hit the ground at 15 to 16 feet per second.”

His wife Patricia said he still goes to the VA clinic for back treatment.

When he wasn't jumping, he packed cargo parachutes for others. He was aware of how much trust the jumpers had to have in the packers.

In 1964 he spent about six weeks in Cyprus.

“The Turks and the Greeks were fighting. The Greeks wanted to take the island and the US was protecting Turkey. They kept us busy preparing for an attack that ultimately wasn't necessary when Greece gave in. The US is doing everything – honestly, they're putting a lot of things right,” Cooper said.

When John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, memorial services were held at military bases around the world. Cooper was selected as an honor guard for the ceremony.

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

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

He also toured Sainte Mere Eglise, where an American paratrooper named John Steele was trapped in a church tower during a World War II invasion. Steele played dead and eventually escaped, serving as an inspiration for someone doing the same job 20 years later.

One of his most disturbing memories is witnessing racism when a black man attempted suicide.

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

Cooper still wonders how the group leader could be so callous.

But in general he liked his comrades. He was in contact with some of them until his car was damaged.

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

“People get married, get jobs and disperse everywhere,” he said.

However, he enjoys sharing stories with other veterans at the VA clinic.

Cooper returned home in 1964, but just as he was getting married, he accidentally received a letter calling for his service. The typo was corrected, and he spent the next 35 years working for Copperweld Steel, working as a grinder, chain operator, and rammer.

“Everything I did there.” His favorite task was operating the crane. “I controlled it remotely from the ground. I wasn't in the cabin.”

In 1999, Cooper suffered a heart attack and retired soon after. But that didn't slow him down too much. For eight years, he ran a renovation business with his son, Chuck Jr. Before COVID-19, they took an annual family trip to Myrtle Beach, accompanied by up to six dogs at a time. He was an avid outdoorsman and caught muskrats and raccoons – “anything I could catch,” and he enjoyed hunting. He finally quit when his doctors told him, “What do you do when you have to run away? You have to climb a tree.”

Cooper said he recommends the service to young people who are considering enlisting.

“There are a lot of things you can pick up and learn, and you can travel,” he said.

His wife Patricia noted that he had completed his schooling and had acquired skills and discipline. His time in the army had changed his life, she said.

“The military saved him,” she said.

“I don’t know how,” Cooper joked.