Location: 385
Date: 11/4/2003
Rank: Specialist
Branch: U.S. Army
Operation: Operation Iraqi Freedom
My Son My Hero
Specialist Robert T. Benson, 20, died Nov. 4, 2003, of a gunshot wound sustained at a checkpoint in Iraq. He was born in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and attended schools in Spokane, Wash. All through his adolescence he loved the outdoors and anything that put him in the woods or on a lake. His mother said that “Bobby would always bring his fishing pole and gear to where ever our weekend took us. Of course, he was always the first to catch a fish”.
His step-father Dan and he would take off on 4-wheelers in hope of getting their limit of grouse or turkeys. Bobby had taken his classes to get his hunting license when he was of age and passed it with flying colors. Dan took him out and let him shoot the first grouse they saw that day. He was so proud of himself when they got back and couldn’t wait to show his mother what he had shot. His mother said, “All-in-all, Bobby got to experience the outdoors all his life, living in Idaho and enjoying the outdoors with his family.” “He was a good man and an excellent soldier,” said a fellow soldier. “He will never be forgotten.”
Robert joined the Army in July 2001, shortly after graduating from high school. He married a high school classmate, Aimee Hiatt. “I wish Bobby could have had children,” his stepsister, Alexandra, said. “I wish he could have seen his brothers and sisters get married.”