Milwaukie Soldier Dies in Iraq

Oregon soldiers in combat in Iraq Photo Courtesy: Major Arnold Strong

(MILWAUKIE AP) - One day after his Father's Day letter arrived home, a soldier from Milwaukie is the latest soldier with Oregon ties to die in the Middle East.

Army Spc. Robert Jones, 22, was killed Friday in Baghdad. Kathy Walker, a family friend, told The Oregonian that Jones was hit by mortar and died instantly.

The newspaper said Jones is the 59th casualty to date in Iraq and the Middle East with Oregon ties. Another Oregon soldier, Army Pfc. Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25, of Madras, is missing and may have been kidnapped by a group linked to al-Qaida.

Walker said Jones' parents - Jerry and Brenda Dowell of Milwaukie - were not ready to talk about their son with reporters.

It was his second tour in Iraq, and he was supposed to be there only for four weeks to give other soldiers a break, Walker said. Then he was expected to leave for Germany or Kuwait.

In a letter that arrived Thursday, Jones wished Jerry Dowell a happy Father's Day and told him he loved him. In the letter, Jones said that he couldn't find a Father's Day card.

"We're all grateful that he couldn't find a card that day because he got to express his love for his father," Walker said.

Walker said Jones, who graduated from Rex Putnam High School, joined the military because he wanted to serve his country and get money for college. He bought his mother a computer so she could communicate with him overseas.

"No matter where Bobby went, he had a grin from ear to ear," Walker said. "You just think about him, and there's always a story to make you smile."