By Deborah Larsen
Edwin Nelson Cooper
Edwin Nelson Cooper was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, on March 6, 1922, the son of Ernest and Norma Rosebrook Cooper. The Cooper family moved to Rochester when Edwin was a teenager. Before the war, he was employed at Yellow Truck & Coach in Pontiac, Michigan, and as a truck driver for John Kemler. He married Elizabeth Barton in 1941.
In January 1943, Edwin entered the U.S. Army and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 411th Infantry Regiment. He was sent overseas to the European Theater in October 1944. In November 1944, while fighting with his unit in France, he was wounded by an artillery shell and was awarded the Purple Heart. Edwin was discharged from military service in July 1945.
After the war, Edwin and his family lived in Rochester. He retired from National Twist Drill & Tool Company in Avon Township and afterward lived in Tustin, Michigan.
Edwin Nelson Cooper died at age 56 on July 26, 1978, and was laid to rest in Clinton Township, Michigan.