
SSG Robert Willis Ira Hinton
By Amber, Bobby's Wife

Robert “Bobby” Willis Ira Hinton, was born 12/19/85. Bobby graduated from Douglas High School in Douglas, WY in 2004 and was the youngest of three brothers Michael and Christopher.
While in high school, Bobby was very active in sports and enjoyed playing soccer and basketball. He was also a state swimmer in Utah and a state diver in Wyoming. Bobby enjoyed drawing and had won a national award, which is still hanging in the hallway of Wagon Wheel School in Gillette, WY.
Bobby met me, his wife - Amber Marie (Goodell) Hinton - in high school. Upon graduation in 2004 he joined the Army and we went our separate ways. In 2005, after basic training in Fort Jackson, SC, Bobby and I reconnected and started dating. During his first deployment I was still in high school, my grandma and I baked so many home-made cookies and brownies and mailed them to him! Bobby proposed to marry me upon his return from his 1st deployment to Afghanistan. We got married on January 16th, 2007 and moved from Fort Bragg, NC to Fayetteville, NC to start our lives together.
In 2007 he received his Airborne Wings. While stationed at Fort Bragg, he was assigned to the 18th Field Artillery Brigade. After re-enlisting in 2010 his desire was to go to Officer School... Bobby wanted to lead and teach soldiers to be the best.
The day after Bobby ended his life, he received a letter of acceptance to Officer School.
Bobby loved the outdoors, hunting, camping, fishing and hiking. He also enjoyed cooking, which didn’t always turn out for the best. He would do the grilling for our family and one time Bobby was at my Mom's home grilling steaks for dinner and he burnt my moms house! The grill was to close and melted the siding. The fire damages were never fixed because it's a great story to tell about my husband. He would always laugh about it every time we grilled. Another time Bobby put cookies in the oven, which he forgot about just before we left ... sure enough when we came back to our smelly house we found burnt cookies!
Few months after Bobby's second deployment to Afghanistan our daughter, Bailee Nicole Hinton, was born on December 14th, 2008. Bailee made her daddy's world, I saw how Bobby looked at his baby girl - it was love at first sight.
Soon after, Bobby got put on orders for Korea, but a month before his scheduled departure he was reassigned to Helena, MT. This assignment allowed him to watch his little girl grow up.
While in Helena our son, Tavin Robert Eugene Hinton, was born two months prematurely on August 3, 2010. Bobby helped me through this difficult time, he was my rock. The way he looked at our son the day Tavin was released from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, it was yet again love and first sight. Bobby knew that his son, just like him, was going to be a fighter!
Bobby suffered from PTSD and was searching for help through counselling. Unfortunately, even though Bobby was a fighter and adored his family the stresses and demons of PTSD is what ultimately lead him to end his life on September 10, 2011.
His two children were 1 and 2 at the time and they will never have their own memories of their father, that is why I find it an honor to be able to keep Bobby’s memory alive and not to be forgotten.
