by: Mark Brunswick
The remains of servicemen, including Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Greniger of Greenfield, Minn., arrived Thursday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Greniger, 21, was killed in combat Tuesday in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. Photo: Steve Ruark, Associated Press
Lance Cpl. Robert Greniger of Greenfield had been in Afghanistan only a few months, a friend said.
“He talked about getting to know some people, especially some of the natives around the main base where he was at. He had met a little girl that looked just like his youngest sister, Greta, who’s 8. He was teasing her about getting him some bread, and the girl went home and got him some bread,” his father recalled.
Kurt Greniger said his son had been in Afghanistan since March.
“When he got focused in on something he really liked, he really focused,” his father said. “When he joined the Marines, that’s exactly the way it was. He really enjoyed the people he was around in boot camp and all the way through.”
[Robert Greniger’s friend] Adam Lewis said that when he and Greniger were in school, they were often in class together because they both had minor learning disorders that made reading difficult. “We were in class together, in gym together. We hung out. We went fishing. We decided to join the military kind of out of boredom one day, to tell you the truth, but also because we wanted to serve our country,” Lewis said. Julie Merila, an English teacher at the high school, described Greniger as a “terrific guy” but indifferent student, not uncommon for a kid who had trouble reading.
Lance Cpl. Robert S. Greniger, 21, a combat engineer, died in Helmand Province. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune, N.C., Second Combat Engineer Battalion, Second Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. His mother, Teresa, was in Dover, Del., Thursday night as his remains were returned.
The remains of servicemen, including Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Greniger of Greenfield, Minn., arrived Thursday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Greniger, 21, was killed in combat Tuesday in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. He was the second soldier from Minnesota to die in combat in the last two weeks. Marine Sgt. Chad Frokjer of Maplewood was killed in combat June 30, also in Helmand Province.