Osceola woman’s husband dies of wounds suffered in Afghanistan

OSCEOLA -- The soldier-husband of an Osceola woman has died as the result of wounds he suffered in Afghanistan.

Capt. Rob Yllescas’ (YES-cuz) legs were mangled and he suffered head trauma Oct. 28 when an improvised explosive device detonated near him. His legs were later amputated.

His wife, Dena, wrote Monday on a blog set up to give updates about her husband that the results of a test were “devastating.”

She said they decided to let him go.

President Bush decorated Yllescas with a Purple Heart last month. The 31-year-old had been commanding a cavalry troop for the Army’s 1st Infantry Division.

This morning, Dena’s father, Alan Gissler of Osceola, said the family was making funeral arrangements with military personnel in Bethesda, Md.

“A casualty officer is here right now,’’ said Gissler, adding that funeral services in Osceola would likely be late this weekend or early next week. “They say it’ll take five to seven days to get Rob back to Nebraska.”

“My wife (Bev) and I are holding up well, but not as well as my daughter,’’ a tearful Gissler said. The blog set up by Dena has attracted more than 50,000 comments from around globe.

“We got a comment from Italy this morning,’’ said Gissler, whose family was staying at a Fisher House near the Bethesda naval hospital. The families of servicemen and woman stay at the homes donated by Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher.

The couple donated the mansions in honor of what they called the nation’s greatest treasures, its military personnel, Gissler said.

The couple has two daughters and met in Osceola. He graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Gissler said his daughter and her daughters have been living in Texas, but plan to sell their home and return to the Osceola area.