A man that never knew his family fights for his country

Interviewer: Luis Rivera
Interviewee: Frank Frederick Leroy Cooper
Date of interview: June 13, 2000
  

What is your full name?

Frank Frederick Leroy Cooper.

What is your nationality?

German, English, American Indian.

What is your date of birth?

November 17, 1930.

Where were you born?

Minocorners, New York.

When did you (move to the U.S./move from somewhere else in the U.S.) to Philadelphia?

September of 1953.

Why did you leave your country/State/former place of residence?

I needed a job, and also I married a girl from Philadelphia.

What did you like/dislike about your home/country?

I did not dislike anything about my hometown. I liked my town because it was quiet and everyone knew everyone else.

Why did you choose Philadelphia/U.S?

I needed a job and I married a girl from Philadelphia.

How did you travel here?/What type of transportation did you use/take to travel here? How would you change that?

I used a car. I would've changed that by taking a plane.

How did you find a place to live in Philly?

I stayed with my girlfriends parents. I stayed with them until me and my girlfriend got married.

With whom did you travel? [Who did you travel with?]

I didn't travel here with no one. I came by myself.

Give 1 thing you remember most about your home town and why?

My town wasn't actually a town it was a dairy farm . The nearest town was Finely Lake.

How did your life change when you moved and what were the differences between the two places?

At first I didn't like the change. For one I didn't like the city, and two I never thought I'd live in a city. But then I went back and realized how much it costs to buy a farm, so I figured I would stay and get married in the city. My father-in-law said that I could get a job where he worked.

What did you expect about the US/Philly?

I didn't expect much. I expected automobiles, trains and so on. I knew the city was a fast-paced place to live.

What did you come here to accomplish and what else do you feel you still need to do?

I came here to make a living. I feel that there is nothing more I need to do or accomplish. I'm retired now and now I can sit back and relax.

What are the differences between when you came here and now?

When came here I was a young man, now I'm an old man .

What did you sacrifice/leave behind when you left?

I left the farm, animals, horses, you name it. Whatever is on a farm I left it behind .

What problems did you encounter coming to the US/Philly?

Lack of jobs, and getting laid off. Getting a job keeping it for 6-8 months then getting laid off again. These years the layoffs occurred was around late 1953 and early 1954 .

How much money did you have and where did you get it when you came to Philly/US?

I had $ 300 dollars from the Army. Because I was discharged after the Korean War.

How did you adapt to your new environment?

I had to. You had to go where the jobs were same as anyone else.

Why do you think it was worth all your changes?

I have a family, home, wife, and grandchildren.

What education did you have before/after you arrived?

I had a high school education. That's it.

Do you [ever] regret moving? Why or why not?

Somewhat. I was born and raised on a dairy farm. You see? That's a 7 day a week job . Nonstop working. All year round. A job in the city ran you 5 days a week and you had weekends off, and you were able to get a vacation unlike the farm.

What reason would/could make you go back to where you came from?

Well if I could go back, oh yeah definitely. The reason for that is because here in Philadelphia it's noisy and polluted. In the country it's quiet and peaceful.

Describe your first job here. If you didn't have one, who did you get money?

My first job here was grinding and balancing “empelas” on ships. Empelas are the propellers of the ship and your jobs to grind them down so they spin true instead of wobble .

Is there anything you would like to add?

Well, what do you mean?? My childhood? There isn't much to that. I never knew my real parents and I never knew I had a family until I was 13 years old. I was adopted by some people actually never knew my real parents. They took me in and left me with my real family's name . They also gave me my dad's name. The people that took me in were Meryl and Ruth Meade. They are the people that owned the farm that I lived on. The farm still works as a dairy farm and produces milk. Every summer I go back there with my wife. The youngest son of Meryl and Ruth runs the farm now.

Can you tell me about the war in Korea? What did you do there?

I did what any other soldier did. I fought whoever I was supposed to fight.

What was your rank and outfit? And what did they do?

I was a corporal and my outfit was 7th Division, 13th Combat Engineers. We built roads, bridges sometimes parts of bases and airfields. It was hard to do because you're in the middle of the fighting. The enemy in front and your allies in back firing at the same time . It's very hard to build a bridge while ducking mortar shells.

Did you get medals or awards?

I have 4 major battle stars. Two of them were from amphibious invasions. The battles were from Soul, Ewan, Tagoo, and Wangoo. I was from one end of Korea to the other.

Did you ever suffer heavy losses?

My outfit was so beat up that they transferred me and my unit to another outfit. In the Soul battle we lost 60% of our men. Then they started up a new “Dog Company”. But we couldn't get replacements fast enough from the States so they combined us with the “South Korean Rock” to get us up to strength. Since the South Korean rock couldn't speak English and we couldn't speak Korean there was a language barrier. We had an interpreter but he stayed with the captain. In battle we sometimes shot our own men because we didn't understand Korean. Finally, the States thought that the idea was a bad one, and they sent us replacements and that was that .
Well, I guess that's it then!