Silas Lee Copeland (April 2, 1920 – December 4, 2001) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

soldier who served as the third

Sergeant Major of the Army The Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) is a unique non-commissioned rank and position of office in the United States Army. The holder of this rank and position is the most senior enlisted soldier in the Army, unless an enlisted soldier is servin ...

. He was sworn in on October 1, 1970, and served until June, 1973.

Early life

Copeland was born in Embryfield,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

(now Staley, Texas), on April 2, 1920.

Military career

After serving at various posts in the United States, Copeland was sent overseas in January 1945 and assigned to Company E,

66th Armored Regiment The 66th Armor Regiment is the oldest armored unit in the United States Army, tracing its lineage to the 301st Tank Battalion which served with distinction soon after it was formed in the First World War; the 301st trained at Camp Meade, Maryl ...

, 2nd Armored Division, as a tank commander and later a tank platoon sergeant. In late 1945, he returned from Germany and was stationed at

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarters ...

, Texas, where he became Operations and Intelligence Sergeant of the 67th Tank Battalion and 82d Reconnaissance Battalion. In 1950 he joined the 2d Battalion,

8th Cavalry Regiment The 8th Cavalry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army formed in 1866 during the American Indian Wars. The 8th Cavalry continued to serve under a number of designations, fighting in every other major U.S. conflict since, except Worl ...

, 1st Cavalry Division, then located in Japan. From there, his unit was moved into Korea on July 18, 1950, making the landing by assault boats. He served as the Reconnaissance and Intelligence Platoon Sergeant and Battalion Operations Sergeant. From 1951 to 1953, Copeland was assigned to Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps duty at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. In 1953 was assigned to the 2d Battalion,

22d Infantry Regiment The 22nd Infantry Regiment is a parent regiment of the United States Army. Currently the 2nd Battalion is active, with the regimental colors residing at Fort Drum, New York. The 1st, 3rd, and 4th Battalions have been inactivated. Lineage R ...

, Germany, as a first sergeant. He remained with that unit until November 1954 when he was reassigned to the 1st Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas as Operations Sergeant and sergeant major of the 4th Tank Battalion. In 1957 he was selected as an instructor, Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps,

Centenary College of Louisiana Centenary College of Louisiana is a private liberal arts college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi Rive ...

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. Upon completion of his tour of duty at Centenary, he was assigned to the 3d Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Cavalry, 8th Infantry Division in Germany as sergeant major and remained until he was reassigned to the 2d Armored Division, Fort Hood, Texas in October 1962. Selected to be the division sergeant major in June 1963, Copeland remained in that position until December 1966 when he was transferred to the 2nd Brigade, 4th Armored Division in Erlangen, Germany. He was selected as the division command sergeant major in April 1968 and served in that capacity until July 1969 when he was assigned to the Republic of Vietnam as the division command sergeant major of the 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One). For seven and a half months he performed duties as the division's command sergeant major until the 1st Infantry Division returned from Vietnam. Copeland accompanied the division colors to Fort Riley, Kansas, then returned to Vietnam to complete his tour as command sergeant major of the 4th Infantry Division located in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Following his return to the United States, Copeland was appointed

on October 1, 1970.

Later life

Copeland died on December 4, 2001, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Huntsville, Texas.

Awards and decorations

* 5

Overseas Service Bar An Overseas Service Bar is an insignia worn by United States Army soldiers on the Army Service Uniform, and previously on the Army Green (Class A) and the Army Blue (Dress Blue) uniforms, that indicates the recipient has served six months overseas ...

s. * 10

Service stripe A service stripe is an embroidered diagonal stripe worn on the sleeve(s) of some military and paramilitary uniforms. In the case of the United States military, service stripes are authorized for wear by enlisted personnel on the lower part of the ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Copeland, Silas 1920 births 2001 deaths People from San Jacinto County, Texas United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Sergeants Major of the Army