LCpl William "Billy" C. Koprince Jr., U.S. Marine Corps
16 September 1982 - 27 December 2006
Lance Corporal William C. Koprince, Jr. was born in Dearborn, Michigan, and moved to Lenoir City, Tennessee, at age eight. He graduated from Lenoir City High School in 2001. He loved the outdoors, especially hiking in the mountains. Quiet and kind, he was known for his sense of humor and playful pranks. After his final deployment, he planned to attend college and study landscaping.
He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2003 and completed basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina he then continued training at Camp Lejeune, NC. His first deployment was to Djibouti, a key location between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. In March 2005, he deployed to Iraq for eight months to help guard the Iraqi border with Syria along the Euphrates River. In July 2006, he began a second tour with the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. On December 27, 2006, during a joint foot patrol with the Iraqi Army near Habbaniyah in Anbar Province, he was killed by an improvised explosive device.
He was awarded many medals for his tours, skills, training, etc. He was awarded the Purple Heart meritoriously.
Life sadly changed 2 days after Christmas in 2006, never to be the same. He is missed greatly by his mother, his father (deceased in 2020), his sister Morgan Moore, her husband Andy Moore, his nephews and nieces,William (Billy) Moore, Anna Moore, Campbell Moore, & Abigail Moore. His nephews and nieces know their uncle well through many stories and each year they attend Mountain Man Memorial March. In 2025 in honor of their uncle both Billy and Anna participated in the MMMM along with their mother, father, & grandmother. Billy was honored several times by his late father as he completed the entire march as well as both parents completing the 1/2 marathon together. One of the greatest fears after your child's sacrifice is that they will be forgotten. MMMM helps to ease that fear in honoring the fallen and their family.
