John E. Cooper dies of injuries from I.E.D.

EWING -- A Fleming County man has been killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq.

Sgt. John E. Cooper, 29, of Ewing is listed as one of four fatalities in an improvised explosive device bombing while in the city of Mosul, part of Nineveh province in northwestern Iraq, Monday.

A decorated soldier, Cooper was an infantryman with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Bliss, Texas.

Cooper was a 1995 graduate of Fleming County High School.

Though her son did not often speak of his duties in Iraq during conversations with her, Janice Botkin knew he was in danger. As she noted, "you can watch the news and know he was in danger."

A mother's worst fears were realized Monday when Botkin received word her son had become a casualty of war.

Botkin said two military men, one from Maysville and the other from Frankfort, came to her home around 4 p.m. Monday to deliver the news.

Botkin said the last time she spoke with her son was about a month ago, when he called on her birthday.

"He couldn't really talk about what he was doing," she said. Instead, they maintained a "normal" conversation, and he would tell her not to worry.

Botkin described her son as a "very strong, very friendly" person.

"He was a very nice person, to everyone," she said.

Botkin said her son was not verbal about his opinion on the war, though she imagined he supported the war efforts because he, "wouldn't have done what he had done if he wasn't for it."

"We're very proud of John, what he did and who he was," Botkin said as she choked back tears.

Cooper has one brother, two sisters, two stepbrothers and two stepsisters. His stepfather is Roger Botkin.

Cooper's U.S. Army career began Sept. 21, 1995, and through the years he had enhanced his education through the Primary Leadership Development Course and Air Assault School.

During his military life, Cooper was awarded the Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and Service Medal, Air Assault Badge and Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon.

Botkin said arrangements will be made once Cooper's body is home, which could take seven to 10 days.

Though her son is dead, Botkin said his memory will live on.

"He'll always be alive in our hearts," she said.

Gov. Ernie Fletcher has ordered flags to remain at half staff until sunset on the day of Cooper's funeral.

No funeral plans have been made yet, Botkin said, though Boone-Nickell Funeral Home in Fleming County is handling the arrangements.

From the Independent