Marine Cpl. Cooper was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He died in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, when hit by small arms fire while supporting combat operations. Justin graduated from Eupora High School in 2004 and attended Holmes Community College for one semester. While in school, friends remember him as that fun-loving, crazy guy everyone liked and the principal remembers as having leadership qualities. On December 27, 2004, he joined the Marines where he was a team leader and a scout sniper. He received the Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Medal, as well as two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons. Justin decided to go back to Iraq a second time and then to Afghanistan – he felt his country needed him. His family was told that he was one of the best scout snipers the Marines had seen in decades. Justin was a born leader from the time he hit his first little league grand slam, during his senior football when he went to the state championship and sacked the quarterback 19 times in the game, and finally to the deserts of Afghanistan.
Marine Cpl. Cooper was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He died in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, when hit by small arms fire while supporting combat operations. Justin graduated from Eupora High School in 2004 and attended Holmes Community College for one semester. While in school, friends remember him as that fun-loving, crazy guy everyone liked and the principal remembers as having leadership qualities. On December 27, 2004, he joined the Marines where he was a team leader and a scout sniper. He received the Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Medal, as well as two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons. Justin decided to go back to Iraq a second time and then to Afghanistan – he felt his country needed him. His family was told that he was one of the best scout snipers the Marines had seen in decades. Justin was a born leader from the time he hit his first little league grand slam, during his senior football when he went to the state championship and sacked the quarterback 19 times in the game, and finally to the deserts of Afghanistan.
