Christopher Michael Cooper was born on August 10, 1974, in Austin, Travis County, Texas. He participated in the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Texas at Austin and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1997. He was subsequently assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base, where he served as an instructor pilot and completed two deployments to Iraq, as well as service with special operations forces in Afghanistan. He served as a Major and was the aircraft Commander of B-52H Stratofortress 60-0053 nicknamed ''Louisiana Fire''.

On July 21, 2008, the ''Louisiana Fire,'' operating under the callsign RAIDR 21, crashed into the Pacific Ocean approximately 30 nautical miles (56 kilometers) northwest of Apra Harbor, Guam, shortly after departing Andersen Air Force Base. Assigned to the 20th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, the aircraft and its crew were temporarily deployed to Guam as part of a four-month rotation. The bomber was scheduled to participate in a flyover for the Liberation Day parade in Hagåtña, commemorating Guam's liberation from Japanese occupation in 1944. The aircraft crashed at approximately 9:55 a.m., just minutes before the planned flyover, resulting in the deaths of all six crew members and the loss of the aircraft.

Maj Cooper was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery during the group burial and memorial service held for the six crew members of RAIDR 21.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, en.wikipedia.org, www.af.mil