Spartan West Point cadet graduates and receives commission

SPARTA — Vincent Coppola, right, a newcomer to Sparta graduated Saturday from West Point, received the oath of office of a 2nd Lieutenant from his father, retired Colonel Alfred A. Coppola. The new officer was officially commissioned at West Point on Saturday. The ceremonial oath was administered Sunday during a family gathering at their Sparta home. To complete the process, epaulets were positioned by his fiancée, 2nd Lieutenant Cristina Rivera and his mother, Laura Coppola. His two grandfathers, Alfred A. Coppola, Sr., of Norwalk, Connecticut and Michael E. Errico, of Sparta, both veterans of World War II, affixed the shoulder boards. His maternal grandmother, Theodora L. Errico, of Sparta, applied the gold bar to his beret. Lt. Rivera, a resident of Springfield, Va., was also commissioned on Saturday as an ROTC graduate from George Mason University. The two new officers will be married on Saturday in Danbury, Conn. They are both scheduled for duty at Ft. Hood, Texas.