Photo of 2nd Lt Richard Cooper Dodson courtesy Sarah Locklin Taylor
Please click HERE to see the find-a-grave memorial to 2nd Lt Richard Cooper Dodson
A
MEMORIAL DAY
REMEMBRANCE
Many
of our boys from Monroe and Walton County have served in the wars which we have
participated in and have done so with pride and honor. Many of these dedicated
individuals left their homes and families for a cause they believed in, served
their time on the battlefield or where ever they were stationed and returned
home to resume their lives with distinction and honor.
And
there were those who gave their lives in service
while defending the freedoms we
have always known and valued, to ensure these freedoms would always be a part of
our heritage. While many of these stalwart men returned home to a town steeped
in grief and sorrow and were buried in the various cemeteries in and around
Walton County in services befitting the supreme sacrifice they gave to their
country, others never made it home to rest again in the earth of their hometown,
their remains never being found or identified while others whose remains were
identified were buried in the soil where they died.
One of these young men, Richard Cooper Dodson, came from a well-known and
respected Monroe family.
He was the son of the late Nellie Cooper Dodson Adams and Jack Bascom
Dodson.
He was born on December 1, 1920 and was a 1938 graduate of Monroe High
School. After his father’s death in 1934 and during his years in high school,
Cooper worked on a part-time basis with The E. L. Almand Company, Funeral
Directors, where his mother was the office secretary.
Strong bonds of friendship were formed with Ed Almand, Jr., Bill Matthews
and Corley Brown, the manager of the Social Circle branch of the funeral home.
After
high school he enrolled at North Georgia College in Dahlonega where he excelled
in his studies. Upon his graduation in 1940 he accepted a position with the
Mutual Hardware Casualty Company in Atlanta where he enjoyed a short but
successful business career.
He
enlisted in the U. S. Army on January 6th, 1941 and received his
basic training at Maxwell Field, Alabama. On April 1, 1943 Cooper received his
wings and the rank of Lieutenant.
He left for overseas on September 4, 1943, where he served with
distinction with the 100th Bomb Group, 50th Squadron.
During the time Cooper served his country, he wrote many letters back
home to his mother, sister & friends and to his former co-workers at the
funeral home. As with all servicemen, it was these letters to family and friends
and the letters in return that helped keep their spirits high and their sights
focused on the main goal.
Edward Almand, III, son of the late Ed Almand, Jr., generously shared
with me some of the letters his father received from Cooper prior to his plane
being shot down over Munster, Germany. A letter he wrote from Blythe, California
told of the joy his mother received when she was present at the ceremony where
she pinned his wings on his uniform. He went on to write about what was to be
expected of him and his group as they prepared to be sent to an air field in
Texas for flight training.
One thing he commented on, “You should see me out here in this desert;
G. I. shoes, old khaki clothes and a beaten up cap!
I look more like a desert rat than a soldier!
I live eight miles from the place I eat.
I have a jeep so I ride cross country in that.”
The next letter dated April 10, 1943 was a bit more sobering as he began
to learn just what was expected of him and the group of men he came to call his
squad.
He wrote, “For a long time I waited and worked for the day when I would
receive my wings and commission as an officer of the Air Forces.
The time was at hand and I could not get excited about it.
I had often thought it would be an experience similar to high school or
college graduation or even like the time I got my first pony.
Those were the best times of my life, but this one was more a sobering
occasion. Not the end but the beginning.
Soon the time will come when we will have as our responsibility the lives
of other men of an aerial combat crew.
It is more of a question of whether or not we are capable of doing our
job…..I think most of us are.”
Cooper seemed to be in a contemplative mood in his writing of this letter
as he continued, “For quite a while I sat there my thoughts going from
pleasant memories of home and friends to the future and what lies ahead.
Then I wondered if you at home were as ready as we were for the job ahead
of you.
We are a long way from our goal of a complete victory.
We in the service are more than glad to have the privilege of serving our
country.
The world has been good to most of us and this is our small way of
showing our appreciation for the many blessings we have received in a land of
free people.
We will gladly do our best and with your cooperation on the home front
the time will soon come when we can again come home to a land of freedom and
democracy.”
As the war continued and Cooper and his squadron saw first- hand the
horrors and atrocities of the war, his outlook took a somber tone in what was
his last letter to Ed Almand.
Dated sometime in late September or early October of 1943, Cooper wrote
the following to his long-time friend: “After one has been exposed to several
close, very close escapes on missions, he begins to believe in premonitions or
hunches.
Maybe we know when our number is up, this time I hope I am wrong but
there are some things I want you to know.”
He goes on to tell Ed about how he wants his funeral service conducted
and things he would like done for his mother and sister.
He said, “When I go I want it to be fast and it probably will.
If we are listed as missing in action that means we are down in enemy
territory.
There may be a good chance of escape in France but we may sit out the war
in a prison camp.
If I am missing then my pay is to continue for six months so please see
that Mother gets this.”
He ends this letter by saying, “I haven’t done anything spectacular
or wonderful in this war.
All I can say is that I never shirked my duty and was always ready when
called upon.
I simply did my best as far as I possibly could. I know why we are
fighting and I believe in that cause.
We are fighting for Democracy—the real battle is at home.
Until I got here I never knew how bad the situation was. Just remember
that I’ve done my best regardless of how little that might have been---I feel
I am square with most folks, could have made more friends and less mistakes.
Thank you again for everything you have done for me.”
At the bottom of this letter, in a different handwriting, his commanding
officer, had written: “Lt. Cooper is missing in action…October 10th,”
and goes on to explain what steps to be taken to ascertain his location and
whereabouts.
This letter was postmarked November 6, 1943.
The September 14, 1945 issue of the Walton Tribune carried the following
headline: “Local Young Man is Victim of European War”, which stated, “Mrs.
Nellie Cooper Dodson was notified by the War Department last week that her son,
Lt. Richard Cooper Dodson must now be presumed dead since he has been missing in
action 23 months following a bombing mission over Munster, Germany.”
It took almost six years but the mortal remains of Lt. Cooper Dodson
found their way back to Monroe for a funeral service at Monroe First Baptist
Church on June 5, 1949 followed by a graveside service at Rest Haven Cemetery
with full military honors with Monroe’s VFW Post 4421 and the American Legion
Post 64 presiding at the interment. This was one of the largest and most
impressive funeral services Monroe had seen in a long while but certainly
deserving for one so young who gave his life for what he believed in.
Recently I visited the graves of Cooper, Miss Nellie and Jack,
remembering what Cooper sacrificed gladly to keep his country strong and free.
The price his family suffered was great, but looking at his grave, I was filled
with gratitude and appreciation remembering the unselfish decision he made for
his family, his hometown and the pride he had in helping America keep its
freedom. It is an honor to salute and remember Lt. Cooper Dodson.