Motorcycle Ride Honor Fallen Army Ranger Life Saver After Death

Motorcycle Ride Honors Army Ranger Killed In Afghanistan
CBS Minnesota
Jennifer Mayerle
July 24, 2015

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – On Saturday morning, hundreds will ride motorcycles in honor of an Army Ranger who died after being shot in Afghanistan six years ago. Fire sparked by lightning almost halted Friday night’s fundraising part of the Memorial Ride.

Twenty-one-year-old Ben Kopp died after being shot in Afghanistan in 2009. The Army Ranger saved the lives of six of his fellow Rangers, and in death, donated tissue and organs, including his heart, to 75 people.

It’s why Kopp’s mother, Jill Stephenson, and others press on, despite a set-back.

Silent auction items line the room at Bogart’s Place in Apple Valley. The items were saved from her Rosemount home early this morning and some still hold the lingering smell of smoke.

“Lightning struck outside my town home and hit a gas main and it started the box on fire,” Stephenson explained. “You know it’s not my first rodeo with something like this, unfortunately.”

She said a neighbor pounded on the door, saving her and her guests’ lives.

“I don’t think my heart’s ever beat so fast in my life,” Stephenson said. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
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