Army Sgt. Robert W. Ehney

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Robert W. Ehney, 26, of Lexington, Kentucky.

Sgt. Ehney died of injuries sustained in Taji, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. He was assigned to the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. Died on April 23, 2006.

Courier Journal -- Sgt. Robert W. Ehney of Lexington was one of three soldiers killed after a homemade bomb hit an Army Humvee on Sunday near Taji, Iraq, northwest of Baghdad.


"He was proud to be a soldier and proud to serve his country," his father, William Ehney of Lexington, said last night. "But he was very concerned about the younger kids in the unit" and how they would handle combat.

Robert Ehney was 26.

The other two soldiers killed were Cpls. Jason B. Daniel of Fort Worth, Texas, and Shawn T. Lasswell Jr. of Reno, Nev., according to the Department of Defense. Both were 21.

When Ehney joined the Army at 23, several soldiers in basic training -- most of them 18 or 19 -- affectionately gave him the nickname "Pops," his father recalled.

Robert Ehney was the gunner in the Humvee filled with soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas.

This was Ehney's second tour in Iraq. His first began about three months after the war started, and he returned in December.

He took up target shooting as a boy and he continued as an adult, though he was not a hunter, his father said. He also enjoyed riding motorcycles, using computers and playing with his 4-year-old son, William Ehney said.

Robert Ehney attended Eagle Crest High School in Centennial, Colo. He left school but eventually earned his GED.

The family moved from Aurora, Colo., to Casper, Wyo., where Robert married at age 20. About nine months later, the Ehney family moved to Lexington.

Robert Ehney's first marriage ended in divorce, and he was engaged to be married again, his father said.

Ehney's father, mother and son were notified at their home Sunday night. He is also survived by his grandmother and sister.

"There were two soldiers (who came to the home), and you knew what they were there for," William Ehney said.

By Jillian Ogawa
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

A Kentucky soldier was among three from the Army's 4th Infantry Division killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq, the Army said yesterday.

Sgt. Robert W. Ehney, 26, of Lexington, was killed Sunday when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee near Taji, Iraq.

Ehney was serving his second tour of duty, which started in December, his father, Harry Ehney, said last night.

"I am very proud of the man he became," Mary Beth Ehney said of her son last night. "He was proud of being a good soldier, he was a good father, he was a good son, a good brother."

Mary Beth Ehney said family members were told about their son Sunday evening.

Robert Ehney moved to Lexington six years ago with his parents, who relocated from Casper, Wyo. He had been in the Army for three years.

When he was in Lexington, Robert liked to ride motorcycles and golf, his mother said.

His parents described Ehney as a caring person, especially for the soldiers he led.

"He told my wife and I that he was concerned about the young guys," said Harry Ehney, who works for Federal Express.

"He wanted to be all macho on the outside but a marshmallow on the inside," Mary Beth Ehney said. "He was just a kind person."

Robert proposed to his fiancee, Amanda Applegate of Maysville, while home in October and planned to be married after he finished his deployment.

Family members were able to speak with Ehney over the phone once or twice a week in the past few months, Harry Ehney said.

"He always had a dry sense of humor," Harry Ehney said. "That's the thing we try to remember the most about him."

Killed in the same attack were Cpl. Jason B. Daniel, 21, of Fort Worth, Texas; and Cpl. Shawn T. Lasswell Jr., 21, of Reno, Nev.

All three soldiers were assigned to the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team based at Fort Hood, Texas.

Funeral arrangements for Ehney are being made at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home on Harrodsburg Road.

Ehney is survived by a son, William Jacob Ehney, 4, who lives with his mother, Caroline Ehney Purnell, in Lexington; and sister Casey Ehney of Lexington.

Army Sgt. Robert W. Ehney was killed in action on 04/23/06.