A 29-year-old Fort Bragg soldier who collapsed during physical training has died.
A spokesman for the 528th Sustainment Brigade confirmed in a statement that Sgt. Robert Thornton Jr. of Cairo, Georgia, collapsed while running Tuesday on the army base in North Carolina.
The cause of death is unknown and the incident is currently under investigation.
Thornton, a married father-of-two, is survived by his wife, Danielle, and children, Jaylen and Kinsley.
Fort Bragg soldier Robert Thornton Jr. is pictured in uniform in an image from his Facebook page. Thornton died Tuesday during a physical training run
Thornton (right) poses with his wife, Danielle, who is a fellow serviceperson. Investigators are currently trying to determine the cause of his sudden death
Sgt. Thornton was a power generation equipment repairer at Fort Bragg. He worked in the brigade’s 112th Signal Battalion
He was a power generation equipment repairer who had been part of the brigade’s 112th Signal Battalion since January.
His wife, who also served in the Army, paid tribute to her late husband in a social post Wednesday.
‘You are my world… I will never stop loving you… this is the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with in my entire life,’ Danielle wrote in the post.
‘Please come back to me.. I can’t do this without u… I know u r looking down on us from heaven protecting us but I’m so lost without u.
‘I lost my best friend. Lord I beg u to take this awful pain away… I need my husband back!!!!!!! I feel so empty… Half of me will forever be gone.’
The late Thornton is pictured above with his wife, Danielle. Thornton is also survived by two children, Jaylen and Kinsley
He enlisted in the Army in 2012, and was the recipient of several awards and decorations
The brigade is part of the 1st Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg and its soldiers support Special Forces, civil affairs and psychological operations for soldiers around the world.
Thornton’s battalion commander, Lt. Col. Shaw Pick, released a statement following the sudden tragedy this week.
‘We mourn the loss of this dedicated soldier and our thoughts and prayers are with his family,’ Thornton said in the statement.
‘He was a member of our team, and his life was spent in service to his family, his friends and his country.’
Thornton enlisted in the Army in 2012, and was the recipient of several awards and decorations.
Thornton’s battalion commander, Lt. Col. Shaw Pick, said he was a ‘dedicated’ solider who spent his life in ‘service to his family, friends and country’