Robinson, Thomas Lewis
Male
Verified U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Thomas Lewis Robinson, 38, of Kingston, Massachusetts, was killed in action on October 23, 2002, while serving with Operation Enduring Freedom.
Their Story
Lieutenant Commander Thomas Lewis Robinson was a 38-year-old officer from Kingston, Massachusetts, assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG-60). His service in Operation Enduring Freedom placed him within the complex, multi-front campaign that followed the initial invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.
By October 2002, the focus of U.S. operations had broadened. While major combat in Afghanistan had diminished, American special operations forces and intelligence personnel were engaged in a global effort against militant networks, including in the Philippines and the Horn of Africa.
Robinson died on October 23, 2002. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, he was killed in a vehicle accident in the Philippines while supporting counterterrorism operations there. The accident occurred on the island of Basilan.
His death was among the first U.S. combat fatalities recorded in the Philippines under Operation Enduring Freedom. The USS Paul Hamilton, his home ship, was part of a carrier strike group deployed to the Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf during that period.
The conflict, Operation Enduring Freedom, formally concluded in December 2014. Robinson is memorialized on the Navy Memorial and at the Courts of the Missing in Honolulu.
Explore Further
Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led campaign in which he served, concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.
Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.
