Charles D. Robinson

Rank: Captain, U.S. Army

Unit: 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Hometown: Haddon Heights, New Jersey

Died: June 3, 2005, Killed in Action, Orgun-e, Afghanistan

Awards: Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Parachutist Badge, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab

Captain Charles D. Robinson, 29, was a Special Forces officer assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was killed on June 3, 2005, when an enemy improvised explosive device exploded near his Ground Mobility Vehicle during operations in Afghanistan’s southeastern region near Orgun-e. He had deployed to Afghanistan in January 2005 in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

A resident of Haddon Heights, Robinson was commissioned in the Army immediately following graduation from Cedarville College in Ohio in May 1998, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in foreign trade. His first military assignment was with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg. He graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course and was assigned to 7th SFG in December 2003.

Robinson’s parents, the Rev. Charles Robinson Jr. and Janet Robinson, were missionaries based out of Haddon Heights Baptist Church. Their family spent much of their lives in South America, living in Paraguay, where Robinson developed a love of languages and a bond with people of different cultures. He spoke Spanish, Portuguese and Guarani. He was deeply committed to helping ordinary people in Afghanistan, bringing candy for children in the villages he visited.

He is survived by his wife, Laura; his parents, Charles and Janet Robinson of Pemberton Township; and his brother Jeffrey.

Fort Bragg, N.C. (USASOC News Service, June 5, 2005) — An Army Special Forces officer based here was killed June 3, 2005 in the vicinity of Orgun-e, Afghanistan.

Capt. Charles D. Robinson, 29, a Special Forces officer, assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), at Fort Bragg, N.C., died when an enemy improvised explosive device exploded near his Ground Mobility Vehicle during operations in Afghanistan’s southeastern region.

Robinson deployed to Afghanistan in January 2005 in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

A resident of Haddon Heights, N.J., Robinson was commissioned in the Army immediately following graduation from Cedarville College in Ohio May 1998, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in foreign trade.

His first military assignment was with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Robinson graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course and was assigned to 7th SFG in December 2003.

Robinson’s awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Parachutist Badge, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Special Forces Tab and Ranger Tab. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal.

Robinson is survived by his wife, Laura; and parents, Charles and Janet Robinson of Brown Mills, N.J.

Army Convoy Bombed in Afghanistan

A Haddon Heights man was among two soldiers killed when an improvised explosive device struck their convoy in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said Sunday.

Capt. Charles D. Robinson, 29, is the 15th serviceman with ties to the tri-county area to be killed in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Robinson and the other soldier — Staff Sgt. Leroy E. Alexander, 27, of Dale City, Va. — died Friday at Forward Operating Base Orgun-E in Afghanistan. Both were in the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, N.C. Robinson, who deployed to Afghanistan in January, was commissioned in the Army after he graduated from Cedarville College in Ohio in 1998, the military said.

He is survived by his wife, Laura, and parents, the Rev. Charles Robinson Jr. and Janet Robinson of Pemberton Township.

Robinson’s parents were missionaries. His mother previously lived in Haddon Heights and his father is pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Erial, said the Rev. Daniel Smith of Haddon Heights Baptist Church.

The family stayed at Haddon Heights Baptist’s missionary house on 3rd Avenue in Haddon Heights when the soldier was a boy, said Smith.

“She told me he died doing what he really loved,” Smith said. “She said he was working in the villages of Afghanistan helping the people improve their schools and other services.”

A bomb detonated Friday near a vehicle carrying Capt. Charles D. Robinson, 29, outside Orgun-e, Afghanistan.

An Army Special Forces officer from Haddon Heights was killed Friday in Afghanistan when an enemy bomb exploded near the vehicle he was traveling in, military officials said yesterday.

Capt. Charles D. Robinson, 29, who was assigned to the First Battalion, Seventh Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, N.C., had been deployed to Afghanistan in January as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Army officials said he died instantly when the improvised explosive device detonated near Orgun-e, in the southeastern part of the country.

At least one other Special Forces soldier, Staff Sgt. Leroy E. Alexander, 27, of Dale City, Va., was killed in the explosion.

Military officials said Robinson joined the Army directly after graduating from Ohio’s Cedarville University in May 1998, and was first assigned to the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. After completing a rigorous training program over more than two years, he joined the elite Special Forces in December 2003.

Military officials said Robinson is survived by his wife, Laura; and parents, Charles and Janet Robinson of Browns Mills.

Afghan bomb killed captain from S.J. family

A former Haddon Heights man killed in Afghanistan will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery, relatives said.

Robinson lived with his wife, Laura, in Fayetteville, N.C. Robinson’s parents — the Rev. Charles Robinson Jr. and Janet Robinson of Pemberton Township — went to North Carolina to be with his wife.

Robinson was one of two soldiers killed Friday when an improvised explosive device struck their convoy in Afghanistan. Robinson and the other soldier — Staff Sgt. Leroy E. Alexander, 27, of Dale City, Va. — died at Forward Operating Base Orgun-E in Afghanistan.

Robinson — the 15th serviceman with ties to the tri-county area to be killed in Afghanistan or Iraq — posthumously will be awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal and Afghanistan Campaign Medal.

Robinson’s parents both were missionaries based out of the Haddon Heights Baptist Church. Their three children spent most of their lives in South America, living in Paraguay. “Haddon Heights was like their home base,” his grandmother Doris Anderson of Woodstown said.

The family’s time in South America prepared Robinson for his duties in Afghanistan, Anderson said. He spoke Spanish, Portuguese and Guarani. “He just dealt with the ordinary people in Afghanistan. He ate with them in their homes; actually, he was getting thin because he didn’t like the food.”

“He was very quiet but active,” Anderson said. “I think he thought a lot. Even as a child, if it was his turn to mow the lawn, he wouldn’t grumble, he would just do it and get it over with.”

Army Capt. Charles D. Robinson’s life spanned the globe. The son of missionaries based in Haddon Heights, Robinson spent much of his life in Paraguay, where he developed a love of languages and a bond with other Americans stationed overseas.

At Baptist Regional School in Haddon Heights, Robinson played soccer and kept in touch with friends after his family resumed their travels. And after the Special Forces sent him to Afghanistan in January as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, Robinson asked his family to mail him care packages of candy. He planned to give them to children in villages he was helping rebuild.

Robinson, 29, was one of two Special Forces soldiers killed Friday when a bomb exploded near the ground mobility vehicle he was traveling in during operations near Orgun-e, in the southeastern region of Afghanistan.

“He put his heart and soul into everything he did,” said his maternal grandmother, Doris Anderson of Woodstown. “He was outgoing in a quiet sort of way.”

Robinson and his brother and sister were home-schooled by their mother in Paraguay. During one family furlough, Robinson spent his freshman and sophomore years at Baptist High School. He later graduated from Asuncion Christian Academy in Paraguay, said his brother, Jeffrey.

He later majored in international studies and global economics at Cedarville University in Ohio, graduating in 1998. That was where he met his wife, Laura, a native of Iowa. Robinson became involved in ROTC in college, which led him into the Army after graduation. He was first assigned to the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg. He completed a rigorous training program over more than two years and joined the elite Special Forces in December 2003.

He lived with his wife in Fayetteville, N.C., and they were hoping to start a family soon. His parents, who live in Pemberton Township, could not be reached. Also killed in the explosion was another member of Robinson’s group, Staff Sgt. Leroy E. Alexander, 27, a Special Forces engineer sergeant from Dale City, Va. Funeral arrangements were pending.