Senate Concurrent Resolution 533

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REMEMBERING THE GALLANT SERVICE AND COMMENDING THE LIFE OF MISSISSIPPI ARMY NATIONAL GUARD SERGEANT TRAVIS SENTELL COOPER OF MACON, MISSISSIPPI, WHO DIED FROM INJURIES RECEIVED IN IRAQ ON SUNDAY, JULY 16, 2005, AND EXPRESS THE SYMPATHY OF THE LEGISLATURE.

WHEREAS, Mississippi Army National Guard Sergeant Travis Sentell Cooper, 24, of Macon, Mississippi, died on Sunday, July 16, 2005, one day after he was injured when a vehicle carrying a bomb exploded at a checkpoint near U.S. Military Base Kalsu, 25 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Cooper was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 114th Field Artillery Regiment, which has its headquarters in Starkville, Mississippi, and was assigned for deployment to Hotel Company, TF2-11 ACR, dismounted team member for the second platoon; and

WHEREAS, carried by a military honor guard, he came home to his community and family, and was buried on Sunday, July 24, 2005, at Odd Fellows Cemetery in Macon, Mississippi. At graveside, Major General Harold Cross, Adjutant General of the Mississippi National Guard, awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Mississippi Medal of Honor to Cooper posthumously and presented folded American Flags to his father and brother; and

WHEREAS, since operations began in Iraq and Afghanistan, 37 soldiers or sailors with Mississippi ties have died, and Sergeant Cooper is the second soldier from the Starkville unit to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Cooper attended the Noxubee County schools and earned his GED in 1998. He joined the Mississippi Army National Guard in 2000 and was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for unit training. Sergeant Cooper was preceded in death by his mother, Velma Cooper. He is survived by his father, Eddie Tate of Columbus; step-father, Freddie Williams of Macon; brother, Antwan Cooper of Macon; three step-sisters, Peneshia Williams of Macon, and Lashae Shackelford and Nikesha Tate, both of Columbus; four step-brothers, Hugh Jordan of Starkville, Freddie Williams, Jr., of Macon, and Demarquis Tate and Rashawn Tate, both of Columbus; grandmothers, Ollie Bell Mason of Macon, and Sylvia Tate of Columbus; fiancé, Selethia Malone of Macon; and a number of aunts, uncles and cousins; and

WHEREAS, to a country, a fallen soldier means a national loss; to a community, a fallen soldier means a true hero; to a parent, a fallen soldier means a son who won't be coming home. Mississippians understand the costs of conflict, because we have paid them in the past, and it is with great pride and humility that we recognize the heroic action of this great American and Mississippian, who was the guardian of civilization as we know it today:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby remember the gallant service and commend the life of Mississippi National Guard Sergeant Travis Sentell Cooper of Macon, Mississippi, who died from injuries received in Iraq on Sunday, July 16, 2005, and extend the thoughts and prayers of the Legislature to his family and our sorrow on his passing.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Sergeant Cooper and be make available to the Capitol Press Corps.