Clinton Wayne Cubert
Master Sergeant Clinton Wayne Cubert, 38, of Lawrenceburg, Anderson County, Kentucky, died on 16 April 2006 at the Lexington Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky, of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his armored Humvee [High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV)] during combat operations in Samarra, Iraq, on 11 September 2005.
Cubert was assigned to the Kentucky Army National Guard’s 2113th Transportation Company, based in Paducah, during his deployment. He enlisted in the Kentucky Guard in 1987 and was a Transportation Platoon Leader for the 4th Platoon known as the “Guardians”.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Kentucky Distinguished Service Medal and the Combat Action Badge. Cubert is buried in the Camp Nelson National Cemetery in Jessamine County.
Cubert was ‘outside the mold’, a ‘trend setter’
Park City Daily News 18 April 2006 page 5A
FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Army National Guard’s 2113th Transportation Company was already on tour in Iraq last year when it received word that a fourth platoon needed to be added to the unit to work as a convoy escort.
The unit didn't have any experience in protecting large convoys against insurgent attacks in the war-torn country, but Capt. William Serie didn't hesitate when he named then-Sgt. Clinton Cubert as the new platoon’s leader.
“He was the most dedicated in making sure his soldiers were trained, equipped and ready,” Serie said Monday in a telephone interview from Paducah. “People use the word dedicated and outstanding and things of that nature, but I think those words don't really express what he did for us. He was truly a person that was outside the mold.”
Cubert was on patrol last Sept. 11 when a roadside bomb went off near the Humvee he was riding in near Samarra. Cubert died Sunday morning at Lexington Veterans Affairs Hospital of the injuries he suffered in the attack. He was 38. Cubert, who lived in Lawrenceburg, was a 19- year veteran of the National Guard and worked in the combined support maintenance shop at the Guard’s headquarters in Frankfort.
In Iraq, he trained the 30 members of his platoon to develop new tactics in making sure the units they protected in transit arrived at their destination safely. “When you talk about his platoon, they were the people that came up with a lot of the ideas and the tactics we used in transport,” Serie said. “He was truly a trend setter.”
Cubert received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart during his service. He was promoted to master sergeant upon returning to Kentucky and was recognized by the Kentucky General Assembly last month. On Monday, Gov. Ernie Fletcher ordered flags at all state office buildings to be lowered to half-staff in Cubert’s honor.
Members of the Combined Support Maintenance Shop (CSMS) constructed a memorial cabinet honoring MSG Clinton Cubert’s military service. The cabinet stands near the entrance of the CSMS located at Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort. Cubert was a full-time technician at the CSMS prior to his deployment.