By Cpl. Robert Yde
2nd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
FORWARD OPERATING BASE PROSPERITY, Iraq – "I know that everyone's time will come, sooner or later,"1st Lt. Benjamin Brown told a large gathering of Soldiers while delivering an emotional tribute during a memorial ceremony for Spc. Robert Volker Dec. 27. "Rob's time came sooner than expected."
Soldiers, leaders, comrades and friends overflowed at the base chapel here to pay their respects to the Big Springs, Texas native who was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle Dec. 20.
Volker, started his Army journey on Sept. 22, 2005 and attended both basic training and advanced individual training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
After arriving to Fort Hood, Texas, Volker was assigned to Company E, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division and started training as a dismounted Sapper before being selected as a Bradley Fighting Vehicle driver by his platoon leader.
Upon arriving in Iraq in early November, Volker was attached to the 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2 BCT, 1st Cav. Div., with whom he executed route clearance missions in Baghdad.
"He and his brothers-in-arms actively searched for the very IEDs (improvised explosive devices) that most convoys and patrols avoid," Lt. Col. Dale Kuehl, 1-5 Cav. commander said of Volker during the eulogy.
It was during one of these dangerous but vital missions that Volker was killed.
"The nature, of the mission during which Spc. Volker was killed, is a testament to his character," 4-9 Cav. commander, Lt. Col. Patrick Matlock said during the memorial service. "The purpose of that patrol that he, Lt. Brown and Spc. McDonald were conducting was to determine how to better employ the engineers' route clearance team in the brigade's area of operations. In other words, they were finding ways to better protect their fellow Soldiers."
According to those who knew him, Volker never complained and was always able to make the best of any situation that he found him in.
"No matter what, he was always okay with stuff, whether we were in the field, here or camping," Spc. Robert Lucero recounted. "He was the type of person who would do anything for anybody and anything to make you laugh."
Lucero was just one of several people who spoke of the Green Lantern tattoo that Volker had on his upper arm. The Green Lantern is a DC Comic's super hero.
"He always claimed that his Green Lantern tattoo was bright enough that it would glow in the dark and double as a flashlight or nightlight," Lucero said.
Chaplain (Capt.) John Verdugo said it was this tattoo that spoke volumes about the type of person Volker was.
"No one gets a tattoo of a comic super hero unless they resonate with the hero and the symbol he wears and have a deep desire to emulate the hero in action," Verdugo said. "The most important character quality that was necessary for the ring to work was the will power of the wearer to bring his power out for the greater good."
Verdugo said that it was the greater good that Volker was committed to serving and by doing so left his lasting mark on those who knew him.
"For in his service, he was helping to create a better place, free from oppression," Kuehl said. "In fulfilling his duty, Rob did his part to save others."
Spc. Robert Volker is survived by his wife Martha, his mother and father, Melissa and Robert and his brother Jonathan who is currently serving in the U.S. Navy.