Feedback: Massena Man Killed in B-52 Crash Near Guam

The Massena community is mourning one of its own - a decorated Afghanistan and Iraq veteran killed when the B-52 bomber he was piloting crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Guam on Monday.

Air Force Major Christopher Cooper graduated from Massena Central School in 1992.

Cooper’s body and that of another crew member were recovered Monday while the search goes on for four other members of the crew.

The unarmed bomber had been headed for a flyover in a parade celebrating the liberation of Guam from Japan.

Cooper was the son of longtime Alcoa spokesman Mike Cooper, who spent 16 years at Alcoa’s Massena operations.

“He was doing what he wanted to do in life and he was proud of it and we were proud of him,” said Mike Cooper.

Cooper, an 11 year veteran of the Air Force, would have celebrated his 34th birthday on August 10.

Retired Massena High School English teacher Lee Baines remembers Christopher Cooper not only as a family-oriented student, but also as playing an active role in the school’s drama club and musical theater programs.

“When I think about Chris, I think about family, his late mother, his brother Tim and his father Mike. Chris had many talents. He always knew he was going to be a pilot and he always knew he was going to go into the military,” said Baines.

A memorial service for Major Cooper and other members of the bomber crew is being planned at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana but arrangements are incomplete.

Meanwhile, Cooper’s brother, Tim, is encouraging people to send memories, pictures and stories involving Chris to this email address:

rememberingchris@gmail.com

“I would simply ask folks to be respectful as it is for our family to view. Eventually we will try to setup a website with pics and stories and such for everyone to view,” Tim wrote in an email.

Resources:Associated Press Article on Crash

See Rachel Kent’s report:

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Comments

One Response to “Feedback: Massena Man Killed in B-52 Crash Near Guam”

ERIN SEGUIN on July 23rd, 2008 10:34 am

THIS TRULY HURTS MY HEART DEEPLY! I HAVE NOT SPOKEN TO CHRIS IN YEARS, BUT HE WAS STILL ALWAYS IN MY HEART AND ALWAYS WILL BE.
I JUST KNOW HE IS OK AND WILL BE OK WHEREEVER HE IS AND WE ALL STILL CONTINUE TO LOVE HIM FROM AFAR.