Principal Stewart Durham talks about the remembrance becoming an annual one
South Decatur Choir opened the program – click above link
South Decatur Band closed the program – click above link
Special Speaker Brian Copes
Brian Copes retired in August 2015 as a brigadier (one-star)
general with 38 years of service in the Indiana National Guard. His
final assignment was Director of the Joint Staff and Deputy Adjutant
General. Brian is a Senior Army Aviator with 1,700 helicopter flight
hours and initially served as an enlisted helicopter mechanic.
Following military retirement, Brian served for 5 years as the
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Helping Veterans and
Families (H-V-A-F), the largest nonprofit provider of veteran services
in Indiana.
Governor Pence appointed Brian as a Sagamore of the Wabash in
- He is a recipient of the Army Distinguished Service Medal and
the Legion of Merit. During his 2009 deployment to Afghanistan,
then Colonel Copes earned the Bronze Star Medal and Combat
Action Badge and the military unit he commanded received a
Meritorious Unit Commendation.
Mr. Copes earned a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the United States Army War College, both
a Master and a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Indiana Wesleyan University, and an
Associate degree in General Studies from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.
Brian and his high school sweetheart, the former Donna Jean Meyer of Brookville, Indiana, have been
married for 46 years. They have two children and six grand-children. He and his wife currently live in
Whiteland, Indiana. He is a life-long Indiana resident and a native of the small farming village of
Blooming Grove near Brookville in Franklin County, Indiana.
