COPELAND LOREN V

CW3 Loren V Copeland was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 12/05/2009 at the age of 72.2
Orlando, FL
Flight Class 65-21
Date of Birth 09/27/1937
Served in the U.S. Army
Served in Vietnam with 120 AHC in 66-67, 227 AVN 1 CAV in 69-70
This information was provided by SSN search Sep 2010

More detail on this person: Loren Copeland loved flying helicopters -- so much that when he was offered a promotion that would have meant dealing with personnel issues and administrative duties, he turned it down. He just wanted to fly. His love of flying -- and his dedication to the U.S. Army -- served him well during two tours in Vietnam. During that time, he won two Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and an Army Commendation Medal. Copeland, an Orlando resident, died Dec. 5 from complications he suffered from a fall. He was 72. Born in Pawtucket, R.I., in 1937, Copeland was adopted by Imelda and William Copeland, an insurance-company executive and his wife, shortly after Loren's parents were killed in a car crash. At the time, Loren was 2 years old. He grew up in Pawtucket, attended prep school and entered the University of Florida on a swimming scholarship. But he was itching to fly, not swim. In 1966, Copeland went to an Army recruiting office and became an Army aviator, flying attack helicopters. A confirmed bachelor, he met Eleanor Daniels in Fort Walton Beach when he was 34 years old. Ten days later, he proposed. Eleanor had three children from her first marriage. The two eldest children were grown when she remarried, but for David Daniels, who was 11 when his mother married Copeland, the Army man became a father figure. When David was 13, Copeland helped him land a part-time job at the local airport and later arranged flying lessons for the teen. When David was 15, Copeland helped him rebuild and paint a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro -- his first car. "He was like a father to me," Daniels, of Orlando, recalled Sunday. Copeland, who served as an instructor pilot after Vietnam, retired from the military in 1976 -- and then helped his wife launch jewelry businesses in Alabama and in the Panhandle. An outgoing man, his social nature made Copeland a terrific salesman. "He was just a people person," said Eleanor Copeland. "He had charm, intelligence, good looks. He had the whole package." During his Army career, Loren Copeland took college courses whenever he could. In 2005, Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach calculated his credits and awarded him a bachelor of science degree in professional aeronautics. Copeland also is survived by stepson G. Ritchie Daniels of Fort Walton Beach and stepdaughter Angela Daniels of Las Vegas. A military service will be held at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell on Dec. 21. His ashes will be scattered near Point Judith Lighthouse in Rhode Island. A Community Funeral Home & Sunset

Burial information: Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, FL

This information was last updated 09/04/2017

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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024


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