Norton Honors Fallen Member of the D.C. National Guard (10/26/07)

Norton Honors Fallen Member of the D.C. National Guard She Saw Off to Iraq in May
October 26, 2007

Washington, DC—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released the following statement on the death of 52-year old Staff Sergeant Robin L. Towns, Sr. of the D.C. Army National Guard’s 275th Military Police Company, 372nd Military Police Battalion on October 24 in Iraq:

The city has lost a brave soldier, Staff Sgt. Robin L. Towns Sr., who served this city at home and his country abroad as a member of the District of Columbia National Guard, and finally gave his life in Iraq in service to the United States. We offer our deepest sympathy to Sgt. Towns’ wife, Sheila Towns, and to his family. I saw Staff Sgt. Towns off, along with other members of the D.C. National Guard, just four months ago, with encouraging words that were at odds with what I knew of the danger of the mission of the 275th Military Police Company to train Iraqi police. Sgt. Towns knew far more of that danger when he courageously volunteered for this deployment. At that ceremony, we paused to remember the first member of the D.C. National Guard to die in this war, Army Specialist Darryl T. Dent.

Members of the D.C. National Guard hold a unique place in our hearts. Sgt. Towns, like other members of the 275th Military Police Company, volunteered for the National Guard, whose primary mission traditionally is to protect citizens at home against natural disasters. He volunteered knowing that the mission could change, and it did. Our debt to Sgt. Towns, and to women and men like him who volunteer for risks at home and abroad, can never be repaid. However, Staff Sgt. Robin L. Towns now has a place of honor as a fallen member of the D.C. National Guard who will never be forgotten.