Army Sergeant Robert E. Rooney
July 8, 1960 ~
September
25,
2003
Operation Iraqi Freedom
379th Engineer Company, U.S. Army National Guard
43, of Nashua, NH; died at Shuabai Port, Kuwait, when he was struck by a forklift while on duty.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
379th Engineer Company, U.S. Army National Guard
43, of Nashua, NH; died at Shuabai Port, Kuwait, when he was struck by a forklift while on duty.
Robert joined the Massachusetts Army National Guard in 1982 and for 20 years worked full-time at Camp Edwards and at Otis Air Force Base at the Massachusetts Military Reservation at the unit training equipment site, where he was an operational maintenance shop chief. The unit training equipment site services all Mass. National Guard units, providing and maintaining vital equipment, such as heavy trucks and self-propelled artillery for training throughout the year.
Robert was an Operation Desert Storm veteran and 21-year U.S. Army National Guardsman. Sadly, he was the first Massachusetts Army National Guard soldier to die in a war zone since World War II. He was a member of the National Guard's 379th Engineer Company, based in Bourne, MA. The 379th Engineer Company's primary mission is to construct and reconnoiter secondary and main roadways. His unit had been mobilized in January 2003 to support Operation Enduring Freedom. He was killed in a forklift accident in Shuabai Port/Spod, Kuwait while supporting that mission.
Robert was a longtime resident of Plymouth, MA but had moved to Nashua with his wife Diane, in 2002 to be closer to family members. The couple’s home was for sale as they expected to move closer to Cape Cod where Robert worked, when he returned home from Kuwait.
Robert’s passion was following the NASCAR circuit and his favorite driver Jeff Gordon. While he was stationed in Kuwait, a friend taped the races and sent them to him. "Jeff Gordon was his idol,” wife Diane recalls. "He has so much Gordon stuff in our house, it's not funny. That's pretty much all we would buy him for Christmas."
Major Gen. George W. Keefe, the adjutant general for the Massachusetts National Guard, said “Sergeant Rooney was a devoted husband, father and a respected colleague. We mourn his loss. He honors his family, his unit and the National Guard with his dedication, service and sacrifice for our nation.”
*If you have any information on Robert's awards and decorations, please contact us.
Robert is survived by his wife Diane, his son Joseph Rooney, step-son Bryan Beaton and daughter Mandy Brouillard,; brothers James, William, James Berry and James Edward Rooney, sisters Patricia Cleary, Mary Hall and his extended family.
Robert was an Operation Desert Storm veteran and 21-year U.S. Army National Guardsman. Sadly, he was the first Massachusetts Army National Guard soldier to die in a war zone since World War II. He was a member of the National Guard's 379th Engineer Company, based in Bourne, MA. The 379th Engineer Company's primary mission is to construct and reconnoiter secondary and main roadways. His unit had been mobilized in January 2003 to support Operation Enduring Freedom. He was killed in a forklift accident in Shuabai Port/Spod, Kuwait while supporting that mission.
Robert was a longtime resident of Plymouth, MA but had moved to Nashua with his wife Diane, in 2002 to be closer to family members. The couple’s home was for sale as they expected to move closer to Cape Cod where Robert worked, when he returned home from Kuwait.
Robert’s passion was following the NASCAR circuit and his favorite driver Jeff Gordon. While he was stationed in Kuwait, a friend taped the races and sent them to him. "Jeff Gordon was his idol,” wife Diane recalls. "He has so much Gordon stuff in our house, it's not funny. That's pretty much all we would buy him for Christmas."
Major Gen. George W. Keefe, the adjutant general for the Massachusetts National Guard, said “Sergeant Rooney was a devoted husband, father and a respected colleague. We mourn his loss. He honors his family, his unit and the National Guard with his dedication, service and sacrifice for our nation.”
*If you have any information on Robert's awards and decorations, please contact us.
Robert is survived by his wife Diane, his son Joseph Rooney, step-son Bryan Beaton and daughter Mandy Brouillard,; brothers James, William, James Berry and James Edward Rooney, sisters Patricia Cleary, Mary Hall and his extended family.