Remembering WWII: A frontline soldier’s perspective

Norman Shetley had just completed his first year of college at Western State in Gunnison when he received his draft notice in July 1943. Norman trained in Texas, Ohio, and Kentucky prior to landing in Marseille, France in October 1944 with the 449th Armored Field Artillery of the 14th Armored Division.

Norman Shetley holding the Bronze Star he was awarded for
meritorious service and devotion to duty while under enemy fire.
2015 Soper/Delta County Historical Society

After landing in Marseille, Norman said his first night was spent in a bombed out warehouse on the harbor. One evening, Norman was driving a jeep near the harbor and noticed three French-Moroccan soldiers running towards the jeep. The soldiers were attempting to kill him and steal the jeep. Shetley said, “I hit the gas and rapidly shifted into second gear!” Shetley remembered his fellow soldiers saying, welcome to life on the frontlines.

Shetley spent seven months on the frontlines, participating in the Battles of the Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, and the Rhineland. The winter of 1944-45 was one of the coldest in modern history. “We didn’t have adequate footwear or cold weather-wear and I only had one shower the entire time I was on the front,” Shetley recalled.

One night, Shetley and a couple of other soldiers were ordered to take a mile and a half of wire to a village just inside the Siegfried Line for the forward observer. Norman ran the wire into a designated house and while he was inside, the Germans began shelling the area.

Norman Shetley standing on the Siegfried Line in 1944.
Photo courtesy Norman Shetley Collection

“The two other guys in the jeep got nervous when the artillery began shelling around us, so they drove off. I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’ I opted to run down the road. Shells began landing near me on the left, then the right, as I ran and I realized the Germans were zeroing in on me! I couldn’t think why would they want to kill one little lone soldier using the artillery! There was a German zig-zag trench and I dove in. Another shell landed nearby and lifted me about a foot out of the trench! I played dead and the Germans moved on to other targets,” Shetley recalled. This incident contributed to Shetley being awarded the Bronze Star.

Shetley went on to participate in the liberation of Moosburg and Hammelburg prisoners of war camps and was an early witness to view Dachau and Hitler’s retreat, known as Eagle’s Nest.

Shetley returned to Delta County after the war and became a teacher and later a jobs councilor with the Department of Labor.

________________________________________

M. Soper, "Remembering WWII: A frontline soldier’s perspective" Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo.) 11 Nov. 2015, pg. A8

Mike Kopp is a perfect fit for Colorado

Mike Kopp, candidate for governor, has my endorsement. Here's why — Kopp specifically came to Delta County to announce his candidacy last October. He'll be back in Delta tomorrow hosting a meet and greet for all who'd like to visit with him. More than just caring about Delta County, Mike Kopp knows rural Colorado.

At a young age, Kopp was a championship bull rider. How many leaders have actually taken a "bull by the horns?" — Kopp has! He grew-up on his family's ranch in South Dakota before joining the U.S. Army. In the military, Kopp once again demonstrated his fearlessness and was selected to be an Army Ranger in the 82nd Airborne Division. Kopp served on the ground in Iraq during the Persian Gulf War and was highly decorated for his gallantry and acts of valor.

Kopp then worked as a "smoke jumper" throughout the American West, fighting a different enemy — wildfires. During the non-fire season, Kopp was a U.S. Border Patrol agent helping to keep illegals out of the U.S.

Colo GOP Governor Candidate Mike Kopp

Through all this "toughness" Mike Kopp has a heart of gold and became an ordained minister. He's worked as a chaplain helping those with mental health concerns and spiritual needs. Kopp ultimately needed his own help when his wife lost her battle with cancer in 2011. He had just been re-elected to the State Senate and named minority leader. Kopp opted to step down from public life to be with his three young children in their time of need.

Kopp is currently part of the management team for Intermountain Rural Electric Association, Colorado's national Republican committeeman and a loving father (who has recently remarried).

From a policy perspective, Kopp is very conservative, having been the original author of the state's opt-out plan regarding the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). Kopp has been endorsed by the Rocky Mountain Gun Owner's Association, and from having been around him, I can tell you, he is the responsible type who takes firearm ownership seriously. Additionally, Kopp was the last legislator who proposed serious tax cuts and reductions in the size of government. Since Kopp left the legislature, spending has continually increased and the number of legislators with ranching, military, or business experience has shrunk to countable on one hand.

Mike Kopp is a perfect fit for Colorado and I am pleased to be supporting his candidacy for governor.

__________________________________
M. Soper, "Candidate Mike Kopp is a perfect fit for Colorado" 26 Feb 2014 Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo) p.2A  http://deltacountyindependent.com/index.php/opinion/soapbox/10352-candidate-mike-kopp-is-a-perfect-fit-for-colorado accessed 18 March 2014

What are the odds: High School friends reunited on same flight*

Bill Helmsing and Matt Soper randomly met on same flight a decade after graduating from high school together

Delta High School friends reunited on same flight from Boston to Denver. Captain Bill Helmsing, with the 1st BDE 10th Mountain Division, and Matt Soper, who is studying Intellectual Property law at the University of New Hampshire, had not seen each other for 10 years and were surprised to be flying home for the holidays together. 

Helmsing, a West Point graduate, is stationed in Ft. Drum, New York and is about to deploy to the Regional Command East in Afghanistan as a member of a Security Force Advise and Assist Team. 

Soper is an alumnus of Colorado Mesa University and the University of Edinburgh’s Faculty of Law and plans on sitting the New York Bar Exam in July 2013. Helmsing and Soper graduated from Delta High School in 2003.
______________________________________________
*'You Saw It', Grand Junction Daily Sentinel 28 February 2013: 8B