[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 208 (Thursday, December 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S8908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                         TRIBUTE TO BEN COOPER

 Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, today I rise to recognize Mr. 
Ben Cooper, a lifelong resident of West Hartford, CT, and outstanding 
World War II veteran who turns 100 on December 24, 2021.
  Mr. Cooper was a freshman at The George Washington University when 
the United States entered World War II. Eager to support his country, 
he went to work at Colt's Firearms in Connecticut, where he tested 
machine guns until he was drafted in September 1942. Mr. Cooper was 
sent for training at Camp Barkeley. While on furlough, he met his 
future wife, Dorothy, and the two married when he received news he was 
going to be sent overseas. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper had four children and 
celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary shortly before Dorothy 
passed.
  After boarding a liberty ship, Mr. Cooper was assigned as a combat 
medic to the U.S. Army's 45th Infantry Division, also known as the 
Thunderbird Division, which was largely comprised of Native American 
soldiers. They saw combat in Italy, France, and Germany. While in 
Europe, Mr. Cooper was instructed by his friends to keep his dog tags 
in his pocket rather than around his neck. They were labeled with an 
``H'' for Hebrew, indicating his Jewish faith, which could have led to 
harm if he were captured by the Germans. In April 1945, the 45th 
Infantry Division received orders to secure a camp. As Mr. Cooper 
explains, no one in the division knew anything about the camp other 
than their instructions to not allow anyone to enter or exit.
  When Mr. Cooper and his division arrived at Dachau in southern 
Germany, they witnessed scenes he describes as ``virtually 
unspeakable.'' He met the survivors who were able to walk up to him and 
was traumatized by what he encountered. On April 29, 1945, the 30,000 
prisoners were liberated by American troops, including Mr. Cooper and 
the 45th Infantry Division. In the following days, the division helped 
capture Munich.
  Though the division was sent to France with the expectation of 
fighting the Japanese, they were instead discharged when the war ended 
before they made it to the Pacific. Mr. Cooper returned home to his 
family and did not speak about Dachau to anyone for 45 years.
  In 1990, Mr. Cooper shared his story for the first time, speaking to 
a group of students. From there, he started to recount his experiences 
wherever it could be helpful. For over three decades, Mr. Cooper has 
spoken to schools, colleges, civic groups, and archival projects, 
repeating his eyewitness account to make sure the realities of the 
Holocaust are not forgotten.
  His speaking engagements have led to a number of remarkable events. 
At the annual Holocaust commemoration at the Connecticut State Capitol 
in 1996, he met a man who revealed he and his wife were liberated from 
Dachau by Mr. Cooper and his division. They recognized the Thunderbird 
logo on his jacket. The two families became friends, and in 2006, their 
son performed open heart surgery for Mr. Cooper, who mused, ``what goes 
around comes around.''
  In 2017, Mr. Cooper was inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall 
of Fame, and in 2019, he received the Legion d'honneur, France's 
highest military merit. That same year, I had the privilege of 
presenting Mr. Cooper with a certificate of special recognition at the 
Connecticut Veterans Memorial, where he also received the Connecticut 
Wartime Service Medal from the Connecticut Department of Veterans 
Affairs.
  Mr. Cooper's lifetime of service and advocacy serves as a model for 
all of us. On his business cards is the motto that guides him: ``No act 
of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.''
  Mr. Cooper's courage and compassion will be an enduring legacy. I 
applaud his many accomplishments and hope my colleagues will join me in 
congratulating Mr. Ben Cooper on this milestone of his 100th 
birthday.

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