Army Staff Sgt. Carlo M. Robinson

Died January 17, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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33, of Lawton, Okla.; assigned to the 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Fort Polk, La.; died Jan. 17 in Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Kabul.

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Suicide bombing claims Guardsman

The Associated Press

HOPE, Ark. — A soldier from Hope has died as the result of a suicide bombing in Afghanistan.

The Hope Star reported that Army Sgt. Carlo Montel Robinson, 33, was killed Jan. 17 and that his family was informed Jan. 18. Robinson served for years in the National Guard and was on his first overseas deployment. Robinson went to Afghanistan in June.

Hicks Funeral Home in Hope is handling arrangements and said that the military said to expect Robinson’s body to arrive Jan. 23.

The Defense Department had not described the circumstances of his death as of Jan. 21.

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Robinson had Okla. ties

The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — An Arkansas soldier who briefly lived in Oklahoma was killed in Afghanistan, his family said.

Army Staff Sgt. Carlo M. Robinson, 33, died Jan. 17 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, the Department of Defense said Jan. 21.

Robinson’s hometown was listed by the Pentagon as Lawton, but the funeral home receiving Robinson’s remains and his grandmother, Martha Witherspoon, said he was from Hope, Ark., where he graduated from high school in 1993.

Robinson, 13-year veteran of the army, lived in Lawton for a few months in 2007.

He was assigned to the 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade at Fort Polk, La., the Defense Department said.

Robinson was “the quiet type” growing up and enjoyed playing sports through high school, Witherspoon said.

He re-enlisted in the military multiple times, even though it made his family nervous.

“I always said, ‘We’ve already been through this before, and these kids are going over there and risking their lives again,” ’ said Witherspoon, who had two brothers who served in the military in Vietnam.

Robinson was the only member of his generation of the family to join the military, despite the reservations some of his family members had, she said.

“There’s danger everywhere, I know, but over there, your life is in God’s hands,” she said. “And he’s in God’s hands now.”

Robinson is survived by his daughter, Carneshia, 11, and son Dakaria, 10.

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Soldier could make others smile

The Associated Press

Carlo M. Robinson’s grandmother said he was the only member of his generation of the family to join the military, but he was undaunted by the reservations of some of his kin.

“There’s danger everywhere, I know, but over there, your life is in God’s hands,” said Martha Witherspoon. “And he’s in God’s hands now.”

Robinson, 33, of Lawton, Okla., died Jan. 17 after a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle in Kabul. He was a 1993 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Polk.

His grandmother said he was “the quiet type” and enjoyed playing sports through high school. She described him as a patriot and said he re-enlisted in the military many times, even though it made his family nervous.

Robinson went to Afghanistan in June and was on his first overseas deployment. Friends often referred to him as “the dentist” because he could always make people smile.

His fellow servicemen and -women also remembered Robinson as the “quiet type” who was “strong as an ox, yet gentle as a kitten.”

Robinson is survived by his daughter, Carneshia, 11, and son Da’Karia, 10.