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OGDEN, Utah (AP) — An Army sergeant from Utah who died in Afghanistan has been laid to rest in Ogden.
Family, friends, fellow military members and others gathered Thursday for the funeral of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Elliott J. Robbins, The Standard-Examiner reported .
Robbins, 31, is survived by his wife Luz Victoria and baby boy. During the funeral, Rev. Erik Richtsteig recognized the child who shares his father's name.
"There are many things I'd like to tell Elliott that I can't because he's too young to understand," Richtsteig said. "But I hope that the word gets to him eventually, mainly that his father loves him and his father did not abandon him. His father died doing a great, noble thing."
After the funeral mass at St. James Catholic Church, a long funeral procession escorted the casket to Ben Lomond Cemetery, where Robbins was buried with full military honors.
The U.S. Army has said he died June 30 from noncombat injuries in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.
Robbins was born in California and graduated from Weber High School and considered the Ogden area home, He was assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, Colorado, and served in the Army for 13 years.
Though his family didn't speak publicly, others who served in the military shared their sorrow.
"He was a medic, I was a medic, so I know exactly what he went through to get there," said Preston Sant, a retired medic for the Army National Guard's 19th Special Forces Group, wearing his dress uniform. "This is his final march to Valhalla."
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