He still has the powerful handshake and commanding presence of the strapping cadet who earned a football scholarship to the U.S. Military Academy West Point in 1957.
George Kopcsak played fullback in the glory days when Army was a national powerhouse, but these days he would rather talk about daily Mass, the rosary, the brotherhood of the Knights of Columbus, and motorcycles.
“It’s like being reborn,” said Kopcsak, 84, who returned to full communion in the church in 2010 after a 30-year absence. “Each year it gets more focused because as you get older you’ve got to get serious about this stuff.”
Things got deadly serious for Kopcsak, a parishioner of St. John the Baptist Church in Front Royal, when he was run off the road on his Harley Davidson Fat Boy by a truck in the mountainous terrain near Monterey, Va., in May. It was the first time he had ever been down in 35 years of motorcycling.
“I had a miracle happen to me,” said Kopcsak. “Here I am, 84-years-old, flying through the air, and I landed on top of a bed of mountain laurel, 20 feet down the side of the road, flat on my back. That mountain laurel was like being on a mattress. To my left was a big pointy rock and just to my right was a log. I’m looking up at the blue sky, and a guy comes down wanting to know if I’m alive, and I say, ‘Help me up. I’m going to have a cigar.’ ”
The Fat Boy was totaled, but he bought another bike three days after the crash and recently completed a 10-hour tour of West Virginia, puffing his cigar along the way. “He’s convinced that the daily rosary and daily Mass saved his life,” said Michael Turner, longtime friend and fellow Knight in Council No. 7771. “He’s talked to me about his intimacy with the Eucharist — it’s genuine. He’s not a man of pretense. His manliness and courage are just tremendous.”
When Kopcsak talks about his faith the subject quickly turns to the importance of brotherhood that was ingrained during his 30-year Army career, including two years of combat in Vietnam. “In combat, you never left your brothers alone, and that transfers to my involvement with my brother Knights of Columbus where there’s a similar brotherhood,” he said. “You look out for each other. You never leave your brother in a lurch.”
“In Vietnam he saw things that nobody should ever see. He’s seen sacrificial brotherhood — men dying for one another and protecting each other — but the suffering has not caused him to despair,” said Turner. “The brotherhood that he experienced in his military career has given him a profound commitment to his brothers, and he has very high expectations of his brothers. I think sometimes he’s disappointed that we’re not as committed to each other as we should be. He’s got this incredibly high calling.”
Father Daniel N. Gee, pastor of St. John the Baptist, described Kopcsak as a man “with a solid prayer life who lives his faith around the clock,” serving as the recorder for the Knights council and always seeking volunteer opportunities. Kopcsak believes in showing up.
“It’s a big deal to receive Our Lord every morning,” said Kopcsak. “Every morning I walk out of Mass with Jesus Christ. When I go home, I have a happy feeling when I see my wife and the dogs and I talk to my daughter and my grandkids.”
Kopcsak knows that he’s long past the age when most bikers quit riding, but he’s healthy, alert, and not about to put the brakes on his passion for motorcycling where the element of brotherhood is strong. He’s ridden five times in the annual “Run For the Wall” from California to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, and is an active member of the Winchester HOG (Harley Owners Group) chapter.
“Just as in the Knights of Columbus, personal relationships are formed within a motorcycle group such as the HOG family,” said Kopscak. “When we ride together, we establish faith in another rider’s skills and depend on them to enhance the safety of the group.”
If he’s not with his brothers twisting the throttle on his Harley Heritage Classic, organizing Knights volunteers for the church picnic, or relaxing on the family farm, the retired colonel can be found in the same pew every morning, leading the rosary after Mass.
“If you consistently identify a goal when you say your daily rosary, I believe our mother Mary will take care of that,” said Kopcsak. “And daily Mass is simply the best way for me to start the remaining days of my life.”
