By Jill Stephenson
U.S. Army Camp Frank D. Merrill serves as the home of the 5th Ranger Training Battalion and hosts the demanding Mountain Phase of the U.S. Army Ranger School.
Taking place annually during the last weekend of April, a ceremony is held to honor six fallen rangers for a one year period.
During the annual 5th Ranger Training Battalion’s Open House, the U.S. Mountain Ranger Association (USMRA) is honored to add the names of Fallen Rangers to a memorial sign at the bridge spanning the Etowah River on Camp Frank D. Merrill. Family and friends are welcomed to attend and join in honoring these fallen comrades.
Every Ranger student who has trained at Camp Frank D. Merrill has, at some point during their time in the mountains, crossed this bridge. Walking beneath the sign, students are reminded of the “Ranger Way” and the legacy embodied by each name.
To be considered for the Fallen Ranger Memorial, a nominee must be put forward by a USMRA member and meet the association’s membership qualifications – either as a graduate of Ranger School or as someone who served in combat with a Ranger unit. The sponsoring member must submit a packet, including a biography and photo of the nominee, no later than the February USMRA meeting. The six nominees are then selected for honor.
I was fortunate to attend this year’s event as my son, CPL Benjamin Kopp, was one of the Rangers selected to be honored. Coinciding with the new names being added to the memorial bridge sign, a “critter cookout” takes place on Friday night which is truly a BBQ event on a large scale. While there may be some wild game included in the cookout, it’s mostly basic hamburgers and hotdogs. On Saturday the camp is open to the public for
a family friendly event. Local folks not usually allowed onto this military post
are bused into the rural hideaway. Families are treated to witness simulated battle scenarios, rappelling displays from blackhawk helicopters and hand-to-hand combat demonstrations. The event also features interactive displays of military vehicles, tactical equipment, a shooting range and mountaineering gear. The event brings everything up close and personal providing a front row seat to active duty military men/women presenting a sampling of the training and skills they possess. Witnessing a Black Hawk touch down just 100 yards away – watching men fast-rope to the ground, pull others to safety, then lift back into the sky while clinging together on that same rope – reveals
the depth of character and mettle such a feat demands.
Camp Merrill does not have a large footprint compared to other military posts, however it is the place where blood, sweat and probably some tears are left behind as those attending the Ranger leadership course attempt to earn the coveted Ranger tab over a period of twenty-one days. It is divided into four phases: lower and upper mountaineering, mountain
techniques, and tactical operations. Students negotiate mountainous terrain, conduct day and nighttime repelling, build rope bridges, and move cross-country conducting day and night combat missions. This is the kind of place that quickly turns boys into men, although there are numerous men over the age of forty that have completed the course. Its purpose is to develop combat survival skills in a realistic environment.
The annual nominees for the fallen Ranger memorial can come from any era of service and they don’t have to be killed in action, just no longer living.
As seen in the photo of the 2025 honorees, there are two famous men who died just prior to being nominated; Kris Kristofferson and James Earl Jones. While most Rangers are humble, I believe my son was honored to welcome them Home and to stand proudly beside them at their final checkpoint.
I have always felt a sense of reverence to walk where my son walked. I spoke to him several times while he was held over during the Mountain Phase for an extra three weeks. He was inspired by the veterans who had come before him and made friends with others currently serving at Camp Merrill. In our conversations it was clear to me he was becoming something he wouldn’t have ever imagined – a name on a sign alongside other nominated legends. At Mountain Ranger Camp my Ben learned important skills that readied him for combat, earned him a tab of honor and secured a place in Ranger history.
Ranger Camp.
