Robbie McNary was always thinking of others.  “He never forgot an anniversary and never missed a birthday,” said his wife Annette. 

Master Sergeant McNary, 42, served his country for 20 years.  He was a member of the Army National Guard and spent about four years with the Marines.  He was a member of 1st Battalion, 163rd Mechanized Infantry Regiment, Montana Army National Guard. 

Annette said Robbie didn’t have to go to Iraq because of a hearing problem, but he insisted. “He said I can’t let them go without me,” she said. “He told me we’ve been training for this type of thing – I can’t let them do it by themselves.  He said if something would have happened to them when I’m not there, I wouldn’t be able to live with it.”

McNary was also thinking of his wife while he was in Iraq. “Our 24th anniversary was March 6th and the day I got the message that he had been killed was the day I got my anniversary present,” said Annette.  Robbie was killed on March 31, 2005, in Hawijah, Iraq while in combat.

Annette says Robbie was proud of his service in the Army.  “He believed in what he was doing. He chose to go to Iraq to be with his soldiers.”

• His men called him "Big Daddy," and, for many of them, Sgt. 1st Class Robbie D. McNary was larger than life. He stood more than six feet tall and weighed 240 pounds, with a thunderous laugh that filled up a room. Washington Post, 11/7/05

• "Even though we didn't want to see him go, we knew as his friends, he had to go," [family friend Cindy] Jaynes said. "It was what Robbie wanted. He felt it was his duty as an American to fight for his country." Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune, 4/3/05