N.M. GI Dies In <s>Iraq</s> <u>Afghanistan</u>

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | May 10, 2008 | Charles D. Brunt

[CedarDave]

Kevin Roberts told his parents he was joining the Army two months after 9/11.

Soon he was wearing the "Screaming Eagle" patch of the 101st Airborne Division— the same unit his father had served with four decades earlier.

On Wednesday, the 25-year-old staff sergeant was killed in eastern Afghanistan when his vehicle was blown up by a makeshift bomb, according to the Department of Defense.

A fellow soldier, Spc. Jeremy R. Gullett, 22, of Greenup, Ky., was also killed in the same explosion.

"He came home one day and he said, 'I'm going into the service. It's what I want to do,' '' Roberts' father, Milton Roberts, said Friday morning from his home in Farmington.

Milton Roberts said he and his wife, Gerri, were visited by Army officials Wednesday evening and informed of their son's death.

Roberts' older brother, Staff Sgt. Kirby Roberts, 28, recently returned from Iraq and is stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, with the 1st Cavalry Division. His younger brother, Jerry Roberts, 21, still lives in Farmington.

Roberts is also survived by his wife, Donnice; son, Keeghan, 2; and daughter Caehlen, 9, all of Fort Campbell, Ky.

Milton Roberts, quality control manager for a Farmington company that manufactures oil and gas equipment, volunteered for the draft in 1969 and spent just short of four years with the 101st Airborne.

"I agree with what we're doing in Afghanistan and Iraq," he said. "It's a necessary deal. If we don't do something over there, they'll be over here like they were on 9/11.

[CedarDave]

This was a front page story in today's ABQ Journal. Both on the front page and on the inside, the headline read "N.M. GI Dies In Iraq." It was corrected for the electronic edition of the Journal, but the damage was done to members of the public who may have casually seen the headline or didn't bother to read the story. The editor showed his bias by just assuming if a soldier dies, it is in Iraq.

Let us not forget that whether the death occurred in either country, it was in support of the war on terror and our country's freedom and way of life. Condolences, mine and our readers, to his parents, wife, children, family and friends of Sgt. Roberts; he died in the service of our country so that we may be free.

[fkabuckeyesrule]

Condolences to the family.

[Eagles6]

Prayers for SSgt. Robert’s family and loved ones.

[robomatik]

"A fellow soldier, Spc. Jeremy R. Gullett, 22, of Greenup, Ky., was also killed in the same explosion."

my brother lives right down the road from maysville. another local serving his country to the very end.

R.I.P. Sgt. Roberts

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP. Prayers for the family.