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CPT ROBERT J. YLLESCAS
ARMY

Robert J. Yllescas was born on October 7, 1977 to Otto Yllescas and Barb Vorthmann in Guatemala. He has a brother Christopher, two sisters Jennifer and Natalie.

He spent his first 18 years in Guatemala and graduated from Inter-American School in Quezaltenango, Guatemala in 1996.

He then received a BS in Agronomy from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2001. When he enrolled at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he joined ROTC without hesitation. On July 29, 2000 he was united in marriage to Dena at the United Methodist Church in Osceola, Nebraska. To this union two daughters, Julia Faye and Eva Grace, were born.

In May of 2001 Robert was commissioned into the United States Army. He then attended Armor Officer Basic Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was then stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas and was deployed to Iraq from 2003 to 2004. He was deployed to Iraq again in 2005 to 2006.

In 2006 he attended the Captains Career Course and in 2007 also attended Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Rob took command of Bravo Troop 6-4 CAV 3rd Brigade 1st Infantry Division in May of 2008. On July 3 they were deployed for Afghanistan.

Capt. Yllescas immediately garnered the respect of his Troops,” 1st Lt. Joseph T. Mazzochi Blackfoot Troop, 6-4 CAV, TF Raider, said. When Blackfoot Troop arrived at Combat Outpost Keating, they had very little to work with in bridging the gap between them and the locals,”

He brought together the Soldiers of Black Troop to build a building and dedicate it to the area, so we can all come together as a symbol of unity.” β€œHe was more of a visionary than a leader".

On October 28, 2008, Robert was injured by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). On October 31 he was transferred to Landstuhl, Germany for medical treatment. On November 4 he was flown to Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Robert struggled for more than a month to recover from an explosion that took both of his legs and left him with head injuries. That month was speckled with moments of hope for recovery, a hand squeeze returned, fluttering eyes---and well-wishers nationwide logging in more than 70,000 times to follow his progress and lend their support on a family-run blog.


He never regained consciousness. President Bush put on a mask and visited Robert and his family on November 10, 2008 at Bethesda Naval Medical Center and awarded Robert the Purple Heart. After two tours in Iraq, this was to be the United States Army captain's third and final deployment. He was 31 years old.

He enjoyed his daughters and family, Husker football, his truck, boating and wakeboarding. Friends and family speak of a man who was at home everywhere he went, and made everyone feel at home with him. He was a tremendous human being; he cared more about people than himself.

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Honor and Remember Nebraska Chapter is pleased to present this flag sponsored by Prudential to the family of Captain Robert J. Yllescas.


WAR/CONFLICT

Afghanistan
DATE OF DEATH
1 December 2008

LOCATION OF DEATH

Afghanistan
FLAG SPONSOR
Prudential
Presented: 19 May 2012