Army Spc. Robert Rieckhoff (26) was killed in Iraq after a rocket-propelled grenade hit the watchtower where he was on guard duty
Published: Jun 24, 2010 @ 2:43 AM
Robert Rieckhoff (26)
Date: Mar 18, 2010
Cause of Death: War Related
Location: Baghdad, Iraq
URL: view their profile
A Kenosha soldier was killed in Iraq after a rocket-propelled grenade hit the watchtower where he was on guard duty, the soldier's family said Saturday.
Military officials told relatives that Army Spc. Robert Rieckhoff, 26, died Thursday in Baghdad, his family said. The Defense Department hasn't officially confirmed the death.
"They told us it happened at 9:11 (a.m.) local time," his grandmother, Judith Nelsen, told The Associated Press. "Of all the times, it was 9:11."
Rieckhoff, who has an 8-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter, recently re-enlisted as part of Battery Bravo Second Battalion of the 15th Field Artillery Unit out of New York. He began talking about joining the military in high school, said his mother, Barbara Garwood of Kenosha.
"I told him whatever he decided, I was behind him 100 percent," she said.
Rieckhoff graduated from Tremper High School in 2002 and served two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Kuwait.
He knew how much his family worried so he e-mailed them almost every day to let them know he was safe, his grandmother said. The morning he died, Nelsen asked Garwood whether she checked for an e-mail that day.
"She said she'd check as soon as she finished her coffee," Nelsen said. "Before she finished, there was the military at the back door."
Nelsen paused, then added, "She didn't get the e-mail that day."
Rieckhoff wasn't rich, but he was more interested in spending his military salary on his family than on himself, his mother said. One of the last gifts he gave her was an expensive Christmas tree, she said.
"Another time he took me to a local casino," Garwood said, chuckling softly. "He said he learned his lesson, that he's never going to do that again."
His grandmother said she cherishes a costly decoration he gave her, a snowman that plays music.
"I cried and his mother cried," she said, her voice cracking. "He said, 'God, guys, it's just a snowman.' I said, 'Robert, this costs too much.' He said, 'Grandma, these are the things I always wanted to buy for you, but I never had the money.' That's the kind of person he was. He'd give you the shirt off his back, the last dollar to his name."
It was hard not to worry about him, even with his regular e-mails, his family said. When he decided to re-enlist it was because he wanted to make sure his kids had health benefits and access to good education, Nelsen said, but he still called his relatives to get their opinions.
"He called and said, 'What do you think?'" his grandmother said. "I said, 'Son, do whatever you want to do.' He said, 'I want you to be proud.' We said, 'We are proud, pal, we couldn't be more proud.'"
Rieckhoff died one day before the seventh anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He was the 92nd Wisconsin resident to die in the conflict, according to an AP count. Twelve others have died in Afghanistan since 2004.
His grandmother said Americans shouldn't be dying over there, and the U.S. should bring its troops home now.
"If [Iraqis] want to fight, let them fight amongst themselves," Nelsen said. "Our boys go over there and lose their lives. I think they should bring those boys home. All of them."
Related Article(s): n/a
« go back to article archive list