Fallen soldier Tauteris returns to hometown
By Terry Turner Post-Tribune correspondent January 14, 2012 5:04PM
The body of Spc. Robert Tauteris, Jr. of Hamlet is brought into a hangar after arriving by plane at the Porter County Regional Airport in Valparaiso, Ind. Saturday January 14, 1012. Tauteris, Jr. and three other members of the Valparaiso-based 713th Engineer Company were killed recently in Afghanistan when their vehicle struck a bomb. | Stephanie Dowell~Sun-Times Media
The fallen
Northwest Indiana soldiers who have died in combat or service in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Jeannette Winters, 25, Gary, killed Jan. 9, 2002.
Greg Sanders, 19, Hobart, killed March 24, 2003.
Duane Rios, 25, Griffith, killed April 4, 2003.
Roy Buckley, 24, Portage, killed April 22, 2003.
John D. Amos II, 20, Valparaiso, killed April 4, 2004.
Michael J. Wiesemann, 20, North Judson, died May 29, 2004.
David M. Heath, 30, LaPorte, killed Aug. 16, 2004.
Luis Perez, 19, East Chicago, died Aug. 26, 2004.
Nathan E. Stahl, 20, Highland, killed Sept. 21, 2004.
Sascha Struble, 20, Hanna, killed April 6, 2005.
Steven Sirko, 20, Portage, died April 17, 2005.
Nick Idalski, 23, Crown Point, killed June 21, 2005.
Adam Harting, 21, Portage, killed July 25, 2005.
Michael Schafer, 25, Crown Point, killed July 25, 2005.
Brian J. Schoff, 22, Michigan City, killed Jan 27, 2006.
Nathaniel Baughman, 23, Knox, killed July 17, 2006.
Kraig Foyteck, 26, LaPorte, killed Oct. 30, 2006.
Jason Beadles, 22, LaPorte, killed April 12, 2007.
Shaun Blue, 25, Munster, killed April 16, 2007.
Jonathan Rojas, 27, Hammond, killed Oct. 3, 2007.
Joseph A. Ford, 23, Knox, killed May 10, 2008.
Joseph Hernandez, 24, Hammond, killed Jan. 1, 2009.
Joshua Birchfield, 24, Westville, killed Feb. 19, 2010.
Daane Adam DeBoer, 24, Valparaiso, killed June 25, 2010
Augustus “Augy” Vicari, 22, Lowell, killed July 29, 2011
James A. Butz, 21, Porter, killed Sept. 28, 2011
Brian Leonhardt, 21, of Merrillville, killed Jan. 6, 2012
Robert Tauteris, 44, of Hamlet, killed Jan. 6, 2012
Christopher Patterson, 20, a Valparaiso University student from Aurora, Ill., killed Jan. 6, 2012
Article Extras
Updated: February 16, 2012 8:24AM
NORTH JUDSON — The remains of U.S. Army Spc. Robert “Bobby” Tauteris Jr. returned home to a hero’s welcome with hundreds of community members waiting as long as two hours in bitter cold along Indiana 10.
The procession had been delayed by an accident that blocked traffic for a lengthy period on U.S. 30.
A motorcade of more than 100 vehicles, including police, Patriot Guardsmen, firefighters, family members and friends passed under a large U.S. flag in front of Liberty Elementary School. Nearby, a church bell tolled at noon as the procession entered North Judson, about 30 miles southeast of Valparaiso.
Tauteris and three others in his unit died Jan. 6 from injuries suffered from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
Hand-colored U.S. flags filled the windows of a second-grade classroom at Liberty School. Gabi Boyd, 8, said she and her classmates made the display to greet the procession as it passed by. Her parents, Leslie and Troy Boyd, had also brought 6-year-old Jaxon and 4-year-old Charlize to see the procession.
“We definitely wanted them to see this, so they can remember it (in the future),” Troy Boyd said.
Jeanne and Bill Schacht were among the first to arrive beside the procession route.
“I grew up with (Bobby’s) dad, Robert, and his brother Ed,” Jeanne Schacht said. “My girlfriend Elaine and I played with them and rode horses with them as kids. I lost an uncle in World War II. I was very young, but I remember the casket with the soldiers. It has impressed me (over the years), and I believe it is important to remember (these) times.”
Jody Dickson was nearby with her daughter and son, Thunder and Nathan Wardlow, both high school students at Knox. She grew up in a military family and lived for a while with her brother Doug when he was stationed at a U.S. military base.
“We’re here to honor our fallen soldier,” Dickson said. “It is so important we recognize how much our soldiers give to keep us free. If people have family members in the military, they understand how important freedom is.”
Tauteris, 44, a 1986 graduate of North Judson-San Pierre High School, had served one tour in Afghanistan already with the Valparaiso-based 713th Engineering Company. He re-enlisted when his son, Bobby III, joined the National Guard. Bobby, 22, is a graduate of Oregon-Davis High School. The late soldier also has a younger son, Matthew, who is a junior at the school. Bobby and his son left for Afghanistan last October.
In all, more than 50 Patriot Guardsmen in pickups and sport utility vehicles rode in the procession.
Guard member Terry Stemps said, “It’s an honor to do this.”
Ed McConnell added, “We don’t do this for us, we do it for them, for Bobby Tauteris and the others. It is very important.”
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