Randy Coppess’ father was awarded the Legion of Merit more than 30 years ago, but the Air Force chaplain never received the actual medal, she said.
Now Coppess wants to make sure her 87-year-old father lives to see the medal arrive.
“I want to honor him because of the type of person he is and to make sure he gets what — I don’t want to say, ‘what he’s due’ — but what was given him but he just hasn’t actually gotten it yet,” Coppess told Air Force Times on Monday.
Retired Air Force Col. Robert C. Rothman’s Legion of Merit was awarded for his time as installation staff chaplain for the 3800th Air Base Group at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, from September 1978 to February 1983.
“In this important assignment, the leadership, exemplary foresight, and ceaseless effort consistently demonstrated by Chaplain Rothman resulted in significant contributions to the effectiveness and success of the overall chapel program of the Air University,” his award citation says. “The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Chaplain Rothman culminate a long and distinguished career in the service of his country to reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”
Doug Sterner, the curator of the Military Times Hall of Heroes, recommends that Coppess and other people in her situation contact their local member of Congress.
“Every cCongressional office has staff that are acquainted with the process of requesting records from NPRC [National Personnel Records Center] or other necessary authority, because post ’75, records went many different directions,” Sterner told Air Force Times.
When Rothman retired, the following note in his official records explained why he would not get the medal he was awarded: “Dear Sir, Due to the lack of supplies, the medal for the LOM will not be forwarded at this time, but will be upon receipt.”
Years later, Rothman realized that the medal was never sent to him, Coppess said. He mentioned it to her during a recent visit to his home in Tennessee, she said.
“He said, ‘I think I’d like to get that before I die,’” Coppess said.
That prompted all of his children to look into making it happen.
“Because dad is a chaplain, and he lives out his life following Christ, he is not prone to wanting attention for himself, but to be a help and a light for others,” Coppess she said. “To get a glimpse that this is something important to him, and that it has been a long time coming, it is not necessarily a matter of pride, but a heritage he passes down to the four generations he and mom started on this Eearth — and he wanted to add a little sparkle to his coffin (Those were his words).”
