lest we forget

HARTNESS, AARON

Rank / Branch:

  • STAFF SERGEANT, U.S. ARMY

Date Of Birth:

  • 1936-06-10

Country Of Loss:

  • SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

  • HOSTILE-EXPLOSIVE DEVICE

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:​

  • GROUND

Other:

  • MARRIED

Unit:

  • AMERICAL DIVISION

Date Of Loss:

  • 1968-05-07

Loss Coordinates:

  • QUANG NAM

Catagory:

  • BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

  • SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

  • HARTNESS, AARON, STAFF SERGEANT, U.S ARMY, FLUVANNA, SCURRY COUNTY, TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

  • COMBAT INFANTRYMANS BADGE, BRONZE STAR, PURPLE HEART, GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL WITH 2 BRONZE LOOPS, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM MILITARY MERIT MEDAL, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL

BIOGRAPHY

  • Aaron was born in Hulbert, Cherokee, Oklahoma. He had two older brothers. On the 1940 census he is listed living with his father, two older brothers and mother. He was shown to be a Native American of the Cherokee Tribe. He was raised in/around Tahlequah, Oklahoma and last attended Bagley High School in Tahlequah. He entered the service on May 7, 1956, and around this time, his mother married Alfred Browning in Oklahoma. Shortly thereafter, his mother and stepfather moved to Fluvanna, Texas, a small community 15 miles northwest of Snyder, Texas. Mr. Browning was from Fluvanna and his family was well established in/around this small community.
  • Aaron completed basic training at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. He was a tank driver for 15 months at Fort Carson, Colorado. He then completed AIT at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri on 15 November 1958. He completed a 13-month tour in Korea with the 9th Cavalry Regiment from November 1958 until December 1959. He was then assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas where he was a member of the 9th Armored Division until December 1961. He was reassigned to Germany and was a member of the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment until August 23, 1965, when he was assigned to Troop B Recon Squadron as a member of the 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas. He remained in that assignment until he was transferred to Troop A/1/1 in September 1966 at Fort Hood, Texas. Troop A/1/1 mobilized to Vietnam and detached from the 1st Armored Division and was reassigned to the Americal Division (23rd) in August 1967.
  • Aaron was making the Army his career and was in his third enlistment. He was married to Helen Grace Roy and was the father of a son, Aaron Edward Stephen Hartness born in Snyder, Texas in 1961. His wife had four children by a previous marriage. When Aaron left for Vietnam, his wife, child and stepchildren remained at Belton, Texas, a community just outside of Fort Hood, Texas. He began his tour in Vietnam on August 10, 1967, as a squad leader and then was later assigned as a section leader. He was killed when his military vehicle hit a land mine during hostile action on May 7, 1968. He suffered multiple fragmentation wounds, fractured right leg and fatal wounds to his head.
  • He was buried with full military honors in the Fluvanna Cemetery in Fluvanna, Texas. He was survived by his wife, stepchildren and son of Belton, Texas and his mother and stepfather, Martha and Alfred Browning of Fluvanna, Texas. He was also survived by his father Clarence of Cherokee County, Oklahoma. His wife did not remarry and continued to live in Belton, Texas. His mother and stepfather are both deceased and are buried near him in the Fluvanna Cemetery.
  • FLUVANNA CEMETERY, FLUVANNA, TEXAS