Richard Copeland
Richard Copeland's veteran's page
A ship that Richard served on, from 1982-1986:
The John L. Hall (FFG 32), a guided missle frigate
A highlight of his service occurred when his ship participated in the Central American Presence Ops in 1986. And here Richard takes up the story:
"We were tasked to escort the [battleship USS] IOWA to the Pacific side of Central America. We had to go through the Panama Canal. I don't have any pictures, but if you Google 'USS IOWA Panama Canal' you'll see what I mean. It's quite an event.
"So now we were in Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica and we found out why we were asked to escort such a huge ship: They were too big to pull into port. IOWA had to drop anchor in the harbor and JOHN L HALL was tied up the pier. There were about 151 Officers and 2,600 Sailors onboard IOWA and we were their Fleet Landing. Everybody who went ashore or returned to ship came across the Quater Deck of JOHN L HALL. Toward the end of our visit maybe the Embassy thought it would be a great idea for IOWA to host a Visit Ship, which means open tours. The line of Costa Rican people was endless. You literally could not see the end. There was a ladder (stair case) down to a platform where a boat would take the people to the IOWA, I can't remember how many to a boat.
"We got through that and then it was time to say our goodbyes. Here comes the good stuff: We got to go out to sea and show off. In these pictures there is one from an arial view. You have to picture a CH-46 (twin blade helicopter) full of dignitaries hovering above IOWA. The other picture was taken by an amature photographer (my shipmate) and I was standing to his left on board JOHN L HALL, 2,000 yards to IOWA's stern. This picture has been my brief case for almost 40 years."
His shipmate's photo:
and the iconic battleship, USS Iowa (BB 61), under sail:
"This my Retirement Certificate. It represents 30 years of service with the Navy. I’ll see what more I can find." - You certainly did just that, Richard! Thanks for your service, and for the show!
Thank you for your dedicated service, classmate!