Soldier leaves dying mother to return to war [View All]

http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/070418/soldiers.shtml



Sgt. Tim Robinson said he doesn't begrudge the Army for denying his request to stay at his dying mother's bedside instead of returning to Iraq.



As she watched her son leave for Iraq, Katie Mae Jones could only say goodbye with tears.

Though the 62-year-old tried, she couldn't speak. Were it not for life-support machines at Decatur General Hospital, she wouldn't be able to breathe.

Based on what doctors told them, her family knows her battle with kidney and heart failure is about to end.

"Believe me, Mom, if it was up to me, I'd stay here, Mom," Sgt. Tim Robinson told her shortly before leaving to catch a flight back to Iraq.

The 19-year Army veteran with five months left on his enlistment tried unsuccessfully to get an extension on his two-week leave.

He faxed word back to his unit that his mother was dying, and he asked for another week. His request included a note from his mother's doctor explaining her condition, he said, but his commanding officer denied the extension.