Robert Joseph Mogensen – Staff Sergeant, United States Army

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NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense
No. 522-04
IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died May 29, 2004, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when their vehicle hit a land mine.  Killed were:

Captain Daniel W. Eggers, 28, of Cape Coral, Florida.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Staff Sergeant Robert J. Mogensen, 26, of Leesville, Louisiana.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Private First Class Joseph A. Jeffries, 21, of Beaverton, Oregon.  He was assigned to the Army Reserve’s 329th Psychological Operations Company, Portland, Oregon.

The incident is under investigation.

Local soldier killed in Afghanistan

Courtesy: The Leader-Herald and The Associated Press

A 26-year-old Gloversville native was killed in Afghanistan.

Army Staff Sergeant Robert J. Mogensen and two other soldiers died in Kandahar when their vehicle hit a land mine. Their names are posted on the U.S. Department of Defense website.

Family and friends said he always talked about serving our country.

Aunt Karen Martin said, “Robert was such a loving and kind, fun person, and he loved his family and his country.You know, he was happy to be there.”

Friend Shelbi Franscatore said, “It was a difference of going to college or going into the armed services and whatever. He also said he was going to do it and he did. God bless him for doing it.”

Mogensen joined the Army after high school and was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His wife and three children call Louisiana home.

Although he hasn’t been back to Gloversville in a few years, Franscatore said she will always remember their fun times together.

Army Staff Sergeant Robert J. Mogensen, of Gloversville, New York, and two other soldiers died in Kandahar when their vehicle hit a land mine.

She said, “All the girls liked him. He was a cutie. We went to elementary school together — Park Terrace. We used to play on the playground, chase each other and get in trouble.”

A memorial service is scheduled for Monday in North Carolina. Mogensen will eventually be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Soldier from Gloversville Killed in Afghanistan

26 year-old Staff Sgt. Robert Mogensen enlisted in the army when he was 18.

Over the years he’s served in a number of special forces assignments, but his family never imagined he wouldn’t come home.

“I didn’t believe it — at first I said Robert who? You don’t think of it as being your own family,” said his aunt Karen Martin.

Mogensen and two other U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday in Kandahar, Afghanistan when their vehicle hit a land mine.

His family in Mayfield got the news later that day. His aunts rushed to his mother’s side. “It’s just a bad dream. We thought we were going to wake up and it was just a dream. It wasn’t. We still think he’s going to come home and still be the same, you know?” said his other aunt, Kathy Belfance. “You always think it’s always someone else, and when it hits you, it’s unreal,” said Martin.

His aunts say Mogensen was a fun-loving young man — a good husband and father. His death serves as a reminder that soldiers are dying in more than one war zone. “You see Iraq, Iraq but there’s kids dying every day in Afghanistan fighting for us,” said Martin.

Mogensen’s family members still don’t know much about the incident that took his life, but they do want people to know one thing about him… “That he did it for us. Because he loved us. He wanted everybody to be living here safe and free,” said Belfance.

Mogensen leaves behind a wife and 3 children, the youngest an 8-week old daughter. His mother – who also lives in Mayfield – is in North Carolina tonight.

Sergeant First Class Robert J. Mogensen of Leesville, Louisiana, was also buried yesterday (15 June 2004) at Arlington. He was a member of the Army’s Special Forces who was killed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on May 29, 2004. His funeral was closed to the media, cemetery officials said.

MOGENSEN, ROBERT JOSEPH
SFC   US ARMY
VETERAN SERVICE DATES: 02/01/1998 – 05/29/2004
DATE OF BIRTH: 02/17/1978
DATE OF DEATH: 05/29/2004
DATE OF INTERMENT: 06/15/2004
BURIED AT: SECTION 60  SITE 7987
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

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