Now the assistant principal at Ansonia’s Mead School, Coppola served in the U.S. Army during the second Iraq War. When his battalion lost six men in the space of two months, he and others struggled. Grown men cried.
One thing that helped him persevere, he said — faith.
“My faith gave me the strength, confidence, and peace of mind that I would make it home from Iraq, even as my battalion lost six soldiers in two months,” Coppola told about 75 people gathered on the Derby green Friday for a Veterans Day observance.
The same thing helped his family while he was serving abroad.
“It was our faith as a family that kept us strong and eventually brought us together,” he said.
Coppola was the keynote speaker for Friday’s event, which was organized by American Legion Post 24.
He said being involved while growing up at St. Mary’s Church and the Boy Scouts, where he reached the rank of Eagle Scout, influenced his decision to serve the country.
He urged others to do the same “and continue in the tradition of the great men and women who have served before to preserve our nation’s values and make America a place of tolerance and peace.”
Other speakers included U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, state Rep. Linda Gentile, Derby Mayor Anita Dugatto, and James Cohen, the retired president of the Valley Community Foundation who is now leading a fundraising effort to repair the Civil War Monument on the green.
Cohen said that of the roughly $72,000 needed to preserve the monument, $38,000 has already been pledged or donated.
“Every single person and organization I have gone to to talk about this has endorsed the project, has agreed to participate in the fundraising effort,” Cohen said, asking residents to help close the remaining gap.
After the speakers, officials from the American Legion and Catholic War Veterans placed wreaths at a monument to Derby veterans who served in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam.
Riflemen shot a salute. Derby veteran Bernard Williamson played “Taps” on a bugle to close the ceremony.
Click play on the video above to watch.
Afterward, Sarah Widomski, who had sung the “Star Spangled Banner” at the beginning of Friday’s event, sang “God Bless America” to close the ceremony.
