Army 1st Sgt. Robert N. Barton

Died June 7, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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35, of Roxie, Miss.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Fort Campbell, Ky.; died June 7 in Konar, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

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Most 101st soldiers killed in 1 day since 2003

By Jake Lowary

The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle

Fort Campbell on June 16 identified four of the five soldiers who died June 7 in one of the deadliest days for the 101st Airborne Division in recent memory.

According to Fort Campbell, the soldiers who died were:

* Sgt. Joshua A. Lukeala, 23, of Yigo, Guam.

* Spc. Matthew R. Catlett, 23, of Houston, Texas.

* Spc. Charles S. Jirtle, 29, of Lawton, Okla.

* Spc. Blaine E. Redding, 22, of Plattsmouth, Neb.

The Associated Press reported the fifth soldier who died was First Sgt. Robert N. Barton, a Roxie, Miss., native.

They were all assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team and died when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Dangam district of Kunar Province.

The deaths are the most in a single day since members of the division began deploying to the country earlier this year. It’s also the most casualties in a single day since a helicopter crashed in Mosul, Iraq, in 2003, killing four 101st soldiers.

Lukeala is survived by his wife, Deniece N. Lukeala, and daughter, Maiya L. Lukeala, of Hanford, Calif.; and parents, Anthony and Dorothy Lukeala of Yigo, Guam. Catlett is survived by his wife, Brytnee L. Catlett, and two daughters, Ryann and Stephanie Catlett of Houston, Texas; his mother, Jerrie Catlett of Houston, Texas; and father, Darrel Catlett of Texas.

Jirtle is survived by his wife, Savannah L. Jirtle of Fort Campbell; daughters Cheyenne and Chelsie; and son, Jordan of Lawton, Okla.; and his parents, Terry L. and Virginia C. Jirtle of Lawton, Okla.

Redding is survived by his wife, Victoria Redding of Lincoln, Neb.; mother, Teresa Redding of Elmwood, Neb.; and father, Blaine Redding, of Lincoln, Neb.

A memorial service for the soldiers will be held in Afghanistan, and the soldiers will again be honored at a future Eagle Remembrance Ceremony at Fort Campbell.

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Had served in Army for 16 years

The Associated Press

ROXIE, Miss. — Army Staff Sgt. Robert N. Barton, a Mississippi native, was killed June 7 when a bomb exploded near his military vehicle in Afghanistan.

Barton’s body, along with that of four other American servicemen, was returned to the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, Del., on June 9.

Barton, 35, was born in 1974 and grew up near Roxie, Miss.

His grandmother, Jo Beth Coleman told the McComb Enterprise-Journal that Barton was a 1993 graduate of Franklin High School, where he played center on the football team.

He joined the military the following year.

“He was a good student and a real likable person. Everybody loves him,” Coleman said.

“The Army was his career. He lacked four years [retiring].”

Barton was stationed in Fort Campbell, Ky., where he was in the infantry. He was deployed to Afghanistan on April 24.

Coleman said Barton and his wife Rebecca had been married for one year and lived in Hopkinsville, Ky.

“He was military through and through,” she said. “When he became a staff sergeant, I said, ‘I can’t believe my Bobby is a staff sergeant. You can’t be that tough.’ But that’s part of being in the military.”

Coleman said plans are for Barton to be buried in the military cemetery at Campbell.

Other survivors include his father, Nathaniel Coleman of Amite County; his mother, Rebecca Paugh, who lives in West Virginia; and a half-sister and half-brother.