Paratrooper killed in attack by suicide bomber in Afghanistan

Not long ago, 22-year-old Bobby Rapp took pen to binder paper in a faraway land, writing what amounted to a last will and testament.

He expressed love of family back home in Sonora, Calif., and a firm commitment to his young life’s task -- the war on terror. For his funeral, he had a simple request: that “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin be played.

Army Sgt. Robert T. Rapp was one of two paratroopers killed March 3 by a suicide bomber in Sabari, Afghanistan, southeast of Kabul. A car rigged with explosives drove into the gates of an Afghan government building that the soldiers were guarding.

Rapp was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

“Let the world know I died doing what I love,” he wrote to his family in that prophetic letter. “Dying for my country is the greatest honor I could ever receive.”

Rapp was killed less than a month before his 15-month deployment was scheduled to end. He had planned to enter college and major in kinesiology. He wanted to become a physical therapist, get married and raise a family.

But those plans for the future came second to Rapp’s devotion to his nation. When he was 18, he left high school six months early to enlist out of what friends and family called a deep-rooted sense of patriotism and duty burning in him after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

He served stints in Iraq and Afghanistan, and experienced the loss of four close friends.

In an interview in August with his hometown newspaper, the Union Democrat, Rapp expressed the firm belief that America was gaining ground in Afghanistan.

He talked of terrorist pockets cleaned up by U.S. forces and of winning the “humanitarian war.” Schools were being reopened, he said. A sense of renewal was being reestablished in a war-torn land.

“This is the most important thing I’ve done in my life,” he said. “I have no regrets. If I had to do it all over again, I would.”

And America, he said, is safer for it.

“Anyone that’s wanted to take a shot at Americans has to do it here in Afghanistan,” he told the newspaper. “They can’t come to America and fly planes into our buildings -- not after 9/11.”

His executive officer in Afghanistan, Capt. Drew Schaffer, said in an online posting that Rapp had “a heart of solid gold.” After making sergeant at a young age, Rapp proved to be a “fantastic” mentor and leader, on duty for all his soldiers all the time, Schaffer said. His “dedication and positive attitude was contagious.”

“You obviously did an amazing job raising such an incredible and unforgettable person,” Schaffer told Rapp’s parents. “He is a hero.”

Becca Padgett, a friend, wrote in a letter posted on a memorial website that Rapp had a “magical smile,” an ability to bring out the best in everyone he knew. “I love you 4ever Bobbo,” she wrote.

He is survived by his parents, Jennifer and Ted, and older brother Pat.

Rapp grew up amid the charms of Sonora, a historic gold rush town of 4,700 sitting on the western edge of the Sierra Nevada.

The town turned out in force to support his family and mourn the young soldier’s death. A memorial of flowers grew downtown. At a church service March 14, Rapp was remembered as a friend of many, a youth who liked all sorts of sports and early on demonstrated a mischievous streak.

Before the funeral, his mother recalled a prank that landed Rapp in a heap of teenage trouble. As a high school freshman, she said in an interview with the Modesto Bee, he ground up Ex-Lax and put it in a friend’s sandwich. The practical joke got Rapp suspended.

But, mostly, he excelled at Sonora High School, particularly at sports, wrestling and running cross-country. An accomplished outdoorsman, he joined the Dodge Ridge ski area’s race team as a kindergartner. He also enjoyed hunting and golf.

Despite chilly weather on the day of his funeral, hundreds of residents lined the main street as a procession led the hearse carrying the flag-draped coffin. Students from Sonora Elementary School took time from class to pay their respects, holding small American flags, their hands over their hearts.

Before the full military burial, complete with a 21-gun salute, about 800 people attended the funeral at Sierra Bible Church.

Inside, a dirge echoed in the rafters. A lone musician on acoustic guitar played “Stairway to Heaven.”

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eric.bailey@latimes.com