Army Staff Sgt. Joseph E. Robsky Jr.

Died September 10, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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31, of Elizaville, N.Y.; assigned to the 759th Ordnance Company, Fort Irwin, Calif.; killed Sept. 10 in Baghdad, Iraq, by an improvised explosive device. Robsky was on call to neutralize an improvised explosive device after the initial attempt failed. When he returned to the site to render it safe, the explosive device detonated.

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Staff Sgt. Joseph E. Robsky Jr. became a specialist in defusing bombs to help save civilians from the horrors of war.

“He was in Bosnia,” said his mother, Bonnie Robsky. “He saw children with their arms and legs off, and he said that if he could prevent any of that from happening, he would.”

Robsky, 31, who grew up in Elizaville, N.Y., died Sept. 10 when a bomb he was trying to disable exploded. He went to Iraq after spending two years at Fort Irwin.

Robsky served with the Marines for four years after graduating from high school. He was in the Reserves before joining the Army.

“I’m proud of him and loved him very much,” his mother said. “I knew that he was happy with what he did. He always loved life and always wanted to help.”

— Associated Press