Spc. Justin Slagle returns to Forward Operating Base Lane in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter after an air assault mission in the Zabul province of Afghanistan, Oct. 15, 2009. Even as leaders in Washington struggle with the next steps in Afghanistan, troops there are moving to better protect the Afghan people by separating them from Taliban influence and intimidation.

Sailors and Marines assigned to the amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) play volleyball with students from Sangley Point National High School during a lunch break at a community service project. Tortuga, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU) are participating in Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) 2009. PHIBLEX is designed to improve interoperability, increase readiness and develop professional relationships between the U.S. military and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Ben Kopp has been a fighter since the day he was born. When he was born his mother was given morphine to stop her labor so the doctors could deliver her via a cesarean section. But it caused his heart rate to slow and when he was born he wasn’t breathing. But he recovered to the amazement of everyone. “Ben has always been up for a challenge,” said his mother, Jill Stephenson. “He came into the world a fighter.”

On July 10, 2009, Cpl. Benjamin Kopp was wounded in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. He was hit in the knee that hit his popliteal artery and the loss of blood caused him to go into cardiac arrest on the operating table at a battalion surgical center. As a result of his injuries, Cpl. Kopp developed swelling in his brain was put into an induced coma to try and save his life. But he died on July 18.

But his service didn’t end with his passing. Upon his death, by his own desire, his organs were donated to people in need saving their lives.

“Please continue to say prayers for all of the men and women who so proudly serve our country,” Stephenson wrote online. “Ben had a deep love of country and has just left a legacy of heroism for all of us to cherish. Be as proud of him as I was as his mother.”

You can read much more about Cpl. Benjamin S. Kopp here.