Newly widowed father receives AF generosity - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Newly widowed father receives AF generosity

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — Master Sgt. David Robinson cradled baby Abigail and kept a close eye on her big brother and big sister, 7-year-old Daniel and Caitlyn, 3.

Nearly every moment that Robinson, 39, isn’t at the Air Force Technical Applications Center here, he spends taking care of his kids.

Robinson is settling into a routine, slowly working through the death of his 34-year-old wife, Linda, who died June 2 in Australia shortly after doctors delivered Abigail by cesarean section.

Helping the Robinsons cope with their loss has been the Air Force community — here, in Australia and at Los Angeles Air Force Base, the family’s first stop back in the U.S.

“There’s always something good that comes out of tragedy,” Robinson said.

Assigned to Australia in December 2008, Robinson led six airmen from the Applications Center on a mission to detect nuclear detonation or testing worldwide.

The airmen notified others throughout the Air Force Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency. Soon, a full-scale effort was underway to get Robinson and his family back home.

When the Robinsons returned here, they found a house stocked with groceries and baby furnishings. Another airman loaned Robinson a car, and other co-workers and military families have helped with the children.

“I’m blown away by what the local community has done,” he said.

From the moment Robinson arrived in Los Angeles, where Linda Robinson’s family lives, the Air Force was there to help.

“The Air Force was with me the whole way,” he said. “We were met by a large number of the military community. That meant a lot to Linda’s mom.”

Robinson already talks about how he can’t wait to repay others for what they’ve done for him and his children, said Col. Eva Jenkins, vice commander at AFTAC.

“That to me is my hometown hero,” Jenkins said. “Sergeant Robinson is our hometown hero.”

Airmen aren’t finished helping Robinson, said Chief Master Sgt. Ray Lagasse, AFTAC’s first sergeant.

“Every corner I turn, people would say, ‘Chief, what do you need?’ ” Lagasse said. “That’s a good feeling.”