On 2 April 1876, Kārlis Goppers was born at “Maskati” in Plāņi parish – one of the most prominent Latvian soldiers of the 20th century. In the First World War he commanded the 7th Bauska Latvian Riflemen Regiment and the 1st Latvian Riflemen Brigade; later, in the Latvian Army, he became a general, commander of the Vidzeme Division, and head of the Riga garrison. Goppers was also a founder of Latvia’s Scout movement, a recipient of the Order of Lāčplēsis, and a victim of the Soviet occupation.

Goppers’s life story links the experience of the Latvian Riflemen, the building of independent Latvia’s army, and the ideals of civic education. His execution in 1941 during the Soviet occupation made him one of the tragic symbols of the fate of Latvia’s military elite.