RAILWAY TO HEAVEN

This past week, College of the Ozarks, put on a play titled Railway to Heaven.  It is a true story of an Ozarks POW from World War II.

The play was not heavily advertised, but I found out about it and wanted to see it.  Being a drama person in high school, I'm always up for a play!  To make this even better, it was free.  They did a final dress rehearsal for elementary/middle school students and then did a complete presentation for the public at 2:00 one afternoon.  I forgot my camera, so no pictures...... ;(

This play is about PFC Roy Hopper.  He grew up in Harrison, Arkansas.  He went off to war after his junior year of high school at the then, School of the Ozarks.  Mr. Hopper entered the army, spent 13 weeks at basic training, and arrived in Normandy, France, on June 13, 1944, just 7 days after D-Day.

Mr. Hopper served in the 357th regiment, working as a frontline infantryman.  On July 6, 1944, Hopper was taken prisoner and ultimately sent to a German Nazi labor camp.  He remained imprisoned for 9 1/2 months.  During that time, he and the other captured soldiers were faced with starvation, intensive labor, and gruesome circumstances.

During the winter of 1945, Hopper and 2 other prisoners escaped from the labor camp and ended up in a Red Cross shelter, where they were nursed back to health and sent home to America.  In 2001, 57 years later, PFC Hopper received an honorary high school diploma from his alma mater—now called College of the Ozarks.  General Colin Powell was there to present the honor.  At the end of the play, they played footage of him receiving his diploma and it was a very moving moment. Mr. Hopper had MS and was wheelchair bound, but Colin Powell helped him stand when he received his diploma.  Mr. Hopper was overcome with emotion.

“Because of great Americans such as Roy Hopper, we enjoy many freedoms that are too often taken for granted,” said C of O President Jerry C. Davis.  “The College recognizes those freedoms came at a cost and will ensure future generations know that truth and are willing to continue safeguarding those freedoms.”

Mr. Hopper lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The  production was a good one.  I would highly recommend you go, even if you have to pay. 

In 2009, College of the Ozarks began the Patriotic Education Travel Program to further meet the College's Patriotic Goal designed to "encourage an understanding of American heritage, civic responsibilities, love of country and willingness to defend it."

The Patriotic Education Travel Program send Veterans back to their original theatres of war and pairs them with students for the experience, so that the younger generation will gain a lasting perspective on patriotism, service, and sacrifice, and so the Veterans' stories will never be forgotten.

Since it inception, the College has taken approximately 200 students and more than 100 Veterans to sites in Europe, the Pacific, Korea, and Vietnam.

The rich, educational journeys provide a life-changing experience for College of the Ozarks students, who not only learn volumes of history from first-hand participants, but grow to love and appreciate them.  The students return with a renewed respect for Veterans and a dramatically increased love of their country.  Maybe more schools should start a program like this!