Taylorville native serving third tour killed in Iraq
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">A U.S. Army staff sergeant who was born in Taylorville has been killed in Iraq.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Robert Joseph Wilson, 28, died in Baghdad on Saturday. He was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was on foot patrol, the Department of Defense reported.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Wilson moved to Florida with his mother, Peggy Habian, after his parents divorced when he was 2, his mother said. He grew up in Florida, although he attended high school in Taylorville for part of one year before enlisting in the Army, she said.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Wilson was serving his third Iraq tour, according to the Department of Defense. He was a member of the 101st Airborne Division and had been stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Habian said Wilson intended to make the military his career. He planned to re-enlist next month, she said.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">"He was very good at what he did," Habian said.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Since her son's death, Habian said, reporters have been telephoning her and knocking on her door, which is not what her son would have wanted. She said she and her son talked about what should happen if he were killed in Iraq.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">"He said, 'If something ever happens, I don't want a lot of articles in the paper,'" Habian said. </font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">"He was a humble servant of the Army, not a media person.</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">"He doesn't want anything."</font>
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<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Bruce Rushton can be reached at (217) 788-1542.</font>