James Copeland and Alexis “Lexie” Cole met and became friends in fall 2004 when James offered her computer help while they were taking Biology 110 together at UTM.
James Copeland grew up with his parents and two younger sisters in Paris, Tenn., where he ran track and graduated from Henry County High School in 2003. It was during his final years in high school that 9/11 occurred and had a tremendous effect on him. Watching the events of 9/11 compelled him to join the military immediately upon his high school graduation. There was just one problem. He was only 17 and his father would not sign the paperwork.
His father convinced him to give school a try for at least one semester. So, he headed to UTM even though it was not where he wanted to be. It didn’t take long before he realized that he liked school after all. He heard about the ROTC program and thought it would be a good way to learn more about the military while still attending school. After attending school a couple of years he decided that he didn’t want to be an officer, so he decided to join the Marine Reserves.
Copeland figured that he could go to basics, then come back to school and do the Marine stuff on the weekends with no problem. Things didn’t go exactly as he had originally planned. He joined Oct. 24, 2005 and was officially activated June 1, 2006. He ended up being away for a total of two years, between boot camp in California and then serving in Iraq. This might not have been his original plan, but Copeland felt sure that he had made the right decision.
“I felt like God was leading me to join the military and to go to Iraq. [Because of this] I felt that I was safer in Iraq in God’s will, than I would be here at home out of His will,” Copeland said.
He served in the infantry. His job title was called an assault man. He primarily dealt with rocket launchers, shotguns, explosives and any equipment needed to be able to knock down a door to get into a house. It was his job to be the first one through the door and to clear the room. They were basically searching for weapons, explosives or certain people. They were also questioning the locals where certain people were or if they had heard any gunfire or anything that they should check into. He learned some basic commands in Arabic before going to Iraq but they were mostly in the wrong dialect and he had to learn the language as he went along. Luckily they always kept an interpreter with them for more complicated situations.
A group of 43 marines would get supplies from their base for two weeks and then they would patrol throughout the city of Fallujah, Iraq and just go house-to-house searching for weapons and explosives. When they had to they would stop at a house and spend the night and then keep going the next day. There were many times when the men would make references to Copeland’s being a Christian.
“They would send me to run across the road when we were getting shot at because they would say, ‘Well, you’re a Christian, God won’t let you die,’ or ‘You get off the truck and go look underneath and see if there’s a bomb; God will protect you,’” Copeland said.
The marines would go back to the base for more supplies every two weeks. There were about 800 marines in the city of Fallujah trying to control and watch over 200,000 Iraqis.
Copeland was in an extremely dangerous area. He had several near misses on his life. The worst was when a 1,000-pound bomb blew up 35 feet from him and knocked him unconscious causing a mild traumatic brain injury. As a result of the injury he still suffers with headaches and minor memory loss, mainly of the time period in which the injury occurred. He also suffers with ringing in his ears from all the loud explosions.
“I went to Iraq ready and willing to die until I started finding out how my being in Iraq, in harm’s way every day was affecting my family. Especially, when they were hearing how my vehicle was getting hit with IEDs [improvised explosive devices], RPGs [rocket propelled grenades], mortars going off and machine guns everywhere. I was seeing how it affected them. So, I wanted to make it back for them,” James Copeland said.
Copeland’s parents would sit up at night crying, praying for him and they supported him by sending letters and packages from home with extra pairs of socks. Whether it was his parent’s prayers or God’s plans for Copeland that enabled him to make it home will never be known for sure, but others were not so lucky. Five people from his platoon were killed, three were injured so severely they were no longer deemed capable of returning to active duty and a total of 23 were killed from his unit during his time in Iraq.
When he first came home from Iraq he suffered with PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is not strictly something that is just military-related but many returning soldiers suffer with some form of it. Copeland recognized early that he was suffering with PTSD and sought treatment at the VA Hospital. He is one of the lucky ones that can say today that he no longer suffers with PTSD. He feels that his recovery was helped by the fact that he did not turn to alcohol for relief and chose to write his thoughts in a journal.
In 2007 when Copeland was settled back in Tennessee one of the first things he did was look up Cole to see how she had fared while he had been in Iraq.
Cole grew up with her parents and younger sister and brother in Millington, Tenn., where she graduated high school from Tipton Rosemark Academy. Cole spent her freshman year of college at Union University and then transferred to UTM her sophomore year. While earning her undergraduate degree, she was involved in the BCM and participated in Intramural Sports.
Copeland and Cole’s friendship soon turned to romance and the couple started dating. Cole graduated from UTM in 2007 with a BUS with a concentration in Education. The couple married in March 2008 and moved to Munford for two years. Copeland said her favorite experience at UTM was meeting her husband. The couple returned to Martin in January of 2010 so Copeland could finish his degree.
Copeland got a job on campus and because of that she was able to continue her education and earn her MBA in 2012. She was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi as a graduate student. She works as a program resource specialist for the Department of Engineering and for the Department of Computer Science. She enjoys photography and running. She is a member of the Weakley County Running Club but is not doing much running at this time because she is three months pregnant with their first child.
UTM is a special place to Copeland because it’s the place where she started her life with her husband and now with her first child. Thinking about such momentous things brings thoughts of others and their futures to mind.
“Work and study hard; that’s why you’re here to get that quality education. Enjoy it [your time at UTM]. Have fun, make friends and get involved, but what’s most important is that you make your education the priority,” Lexie Copeland said.
James Copeland is a senior majoring in BIS with a concentration in Health. He is scheduled to graduate in December and plans to start on his Masters degree in Computer Science through the University of Memphis in the spring. He currently works as an interim classroom technologist with Information Technology Services. He was one of the founders, has previously served as the secretary and is still an active member of the Skyhawk Veterans Association. He is currently serving as the president of the Christian-based student organization CRASH.
Copeland loves scuba diving and playing drums. He plays drums for his church and the student organization CRASH. The Copelands are members of Central Baptist Church. When he got out of the military in September 2012, Copeland was a sergeant. Copeland is not afraid of hard work and tries to encourage others to work hard.
“Blood, sweat and tears are the ingredients for success whether on the battlefield, in the classroom, or in life,” James Copeland said.
UTM hold many fond memories for James Copeland.
“I always enjoy the first day of classes with the incoming freshmen and all the excitement in the air, starting a new chapter in people’s lives and a hope for a better future,” Copeland said.
Adding to the UTM family is Copeland’s younger brother, Eric Cole, who is currently a freshman majoring in Agricultural Business.
Go to the photo gallery “Couple trusts God’s will for protection” to view more photos of the Copelands.
