Carter County Oklahoma Genealogy and History - presented by Genealogy Trails

Carter County Oklahoma Military Data

WW1 Draft Registration Cards

ARDMORE (AP) _ Lisa Robson doesn't know exactly where her husband's helicopter went down, killing him and two of the other members of the four-man crew. She doesn't know exactly what happened to make the helicopter crash _ enemy fire or mechanical failure. A report will be sent when the details are determined. But she knows one thing. Her husband, Staff Sgt. Michael R. Robson, would not have wanted to die any other way, than on a military volunteer mission in which he was trying to help someone else. ""I want people to know what these guys did and what everyone else is doing over there,'' Lisa Robson said Tuesday, the day before her husband's funeral. ""I don't want to focus on my own grief. ""These guys didn't have to do this and they did. They were dedicated enough to go out and do this.'' And in all the excitement of the returning troops, in the fervor of homecoming plans and patriotic salutes, she wants people to remember the war was not bloodless. Robson was a nine-year Army veteran who started out working with Pershing missiles but who for the past year served as a medic with the 507th Medical Company Air Ambulance. He married Lisa, an Ardmore-area native, in 1986, adopting her two sons. He left four sons behind when he died _ Mathew, 12; Michael, 9; Zachary, 3; and Tyrell, 1 1/2. Lisa Robson talked to her husband Feb. 11, his 30th birthday. On Feb. 28, military officials arrived at their house. ""They won't say exactly where they (Robson and his crew) were, but they were in hostile territory,'' she said. ""All four of them agreed to volunteer'' to go after an injured pilot in a downed A-10 anti-tank airplane. ""Right now they don't know if the reason the rotor stopped was because of enemy fire or technical difficulties. When the rotor stopped, the helicopter started spinning. They start spinning counter-clockwise, like they're unwinding.'' She said the pilot regained control for a few seconds, but lost it a second time. When it started spinning then, it threw a specialist from the craft, breaking his leg. ""He saw the helicopter go down and how he did it I don't know, but he tried to get to them. The helicopter blew up twice. The second time, it knocked Specialist Wright (the injured crewmember) out.'' The helicopter never made it to the downed pilot. ""We've had a great loss. My husband was a very dedicated husband and father and we hate to lose him,'' Lisa Robson said, ""but the guy who tried to get to him is probably having a really hard time of it, too.'' Before being deployed to the Persian Gulf from San Antonio, Texas, the Robsons had lived three years in Nue Ulm, Germany. She said seeing the homecoming celebrations of more fortunate soldiers bothers her somewhat, but she is pleased to see it. ""I'm glad the people are behind these soldiers so much,'' she said.
Source: The Daily Oklahoman - Friday, March 15, 1991