Two fallen US soldiers honored in Noxubee County
NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) -It’s been more than 15 years since two Macon natives lost their lives serving our country.
State representatives, community members, and family are honoring Chief Petty Officer Andrew Tripplet and Army Sgt. Travis cooper.
If you find yourself driving through Noxubee County, you’re likely to come across something new.
What started as the sound of a final salute for two men in 2000 and 2005 is now a joyous applause for the road sign dedication for Tripplet and Cooper.
Triplett began his career in the navy in 1987, after graduating form Noxubee County High School. After completing basic training in great Illinois, he reported to the U.S.S Sphinx in Panama. He was promoted to Engineman Second Class, then to Engineman First Class, and eventually to Chief Petty Officer.
For cooper, he had dreams of of joining the military since he was a kid, even graduating high school a year earlier to become a soldier.
After a tattoo prevented him from joining, cooper saved up enough money to have it removed and eventually worked his way up to Sgt.
while their names will now hold an official mark in the town of Macon, their family members share who they were behind the salute.
The final flag was draped for Triplett in 2000 after a terrorist attack on the U.S.S Cole in Yemen.
Cooper lost his life in 2005 when he was injured in Iraq after an explosive hit his vehicle.
The men left behind family that would never know them. However, those loved ones are still finding ways to honor those men.
The memorial signs are proudly displayed along highway 45 in Macon and Shuqulak.
House Bill 74, passed during the 2024 Legislative Session authorizing the renaming of those stretches of Highway 45.
