Brian C. Hopper
Profile
Age: 21
From: Wynne, Ark.
Assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii
Incident: Marine Lance Cpl. Brian C. Hopper was killed Jan. 26 when the CH-53E helicopter in which he was riding crashed near Rutbah, Iraq. Twenty-nine Marines and one sailor also were
Died: January 26, 2005
Chopper crash claims life of Arkansas Marine
By Rainer Sabin
Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK — An Arkansas Marine killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq was due to leave the country soon, his family said Friday.
Lance Cpl. Brian C. Hopper, 21, of Wynne, was among 31 Marines killed in the crash of a CH-53E military helicopter in western Iraq on Wednesday. Hopper’s brother, Lance Cpl. Patrick Hopper, is also serving in Iraq and will fly into Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, according to their father, Robert Hopper. Patrick Hopper is currently in Kuwait, the elder Hopper said.
The father had said Friday morning he wasn’t aware of the whereabouts of Patrick Hopper, who was supposed to escort his brother’s body to an air base at Dover, Del. Brian Hopper’s casket arrived at that base Friday morning, and his brother made a special request to accompany it. Both brothers had been in Iraq since last summer and were expected to come home...