David Hartman, Army, Sergeant, 1st Class -- Rest In Peace

David Hartman, 27

Army, Sergeant, 1st Class
Based: Ft. Bragg, N.C.
96th Civil Affairs Battalion, 95th Civil Affairs Brigade
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: February 3, 2010
Timagara, Pakistan
Married, 1 child
Gender: Male
Hometown: Merced
High School: Kadena High (Okinawa, Japan)
Burial: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.

The son of a Lake County pastor died Feb. 3 in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province when an improvised explosive device killed three U.S. Army Special Operations soldiers. Sergeant 1st Class David J. Hartman, 27, died of injuries from the blast, according to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Hartman and the other two Army casualties, Sgt. 1st Class Matthew S. Sluss-Tiller and Staff Sgt. Mark A. Stets Jr. were part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Read the above article from the Press Democrat here.

Sgt. 1st Class David Hartman knew the tough, dangerous realities of war. As a soldier in the U.S. Army, he had seen combat in Afghanistan and later in Iraq.

After those tours, the California native was committed to remaining in the military, but decided it was time to try something new. He completed the Army's civil affairs training program and left in November for Pakistan, where he focused on coordinating the construction of schools and other humanitarian projects.

"He had done the shooting," said his mother, Trea Bacon. "He wanted to become a more giving person; he wanted to help people. He wanted to keep serving his country, but he wanted to do it in a different way."

So it was with cruel irony that Hartman, 27, was killed Feb. 3. An improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in the Lower Dir district of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province, according to the Army. At the time of the attack, which claimed the lives of two other servicemen, Hartman was on his way to attend the opening ceremony of a girls' school that he had helped to build.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Sergeant, 1st Class David Hartman here and find pictures and read more about Sergeant Hartman at Arlington Cemetary.



The family Army Sergeant First Class David J. Hartman, including widow Cherise Hartman, son Michael G. Hartman,

mother Milkail Bacon, unidentified, father Gregory Hartman, mourn during the funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery.