PFC Hansen B. Kirkpatrick
Hansen B. Kirkpatrick was from Alaska. Although his military records indicate he lived in Wasilla, his Facebook page says he is from Anchorage. He had attended Robert Service High School in Anchorage and enlisted shortly after graduation in 2016.
As a Private First Class in the US Army, he was sent to serve in the Helman Province of Afghanistan. He went with the Fort Bliss-based 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. He was acting as a mortarman while in Afghanistan.
The 1st Brigade has about 1,500 soldiers in Afghanistan in an advise, assist and training role. The Ready First Brigade deployed to Afghanistan in January.
Soldiers from the 1st Brigade were outside the base on a partnered operation with Afghan troops when they were attacked. Army PFC Hansen B. Kirkpatrick was injured and died from his wounds. He was 19 years old.
The attack occurred in Helmand province’s Nawa district, and also wounded two other U.S. soldiers. Their wounds were not considered life-threatening. They were treated at a coalition medical facility and are expected to survive.
A story from Patch.com is entitled, partially, “He always had my back”:
Kirkpatrick's loved ones shared their shock and grief online.
"This is unreal to me," Jacob Kinnett, 22, Kirkpatrick's bunkmate from back when the two attended infantry school in Fort Benning, Georgia, wrote on Facebook when he learned his friend was killed.
"I'm in tears honestly," Kinnett wrote. "You were one of the most down to earth dudes I've ever met in my 22 years on this planet."
Kirkpatrick is sorely missed by his family. One of the Alaskan media sites shared some touching details about the state’s young son:
Somewhere in Wasilla, Alaska, there are a mom and dad whose brave son went off to war in January and will return in a flag-draped casket in July. Tonight, their hearts are broken as they leave Alaska to be present when their son’s remains return to the U.S…
One person he served with wrote on Facebook that Kirkpatrick was a great storyteller who used to regale his fellow soldiers with tales from Alaska. Kirkpatrick had attended a high school named for a master storyteller: Robert Service High School in Anchorage…
For the parents and siblings of PFC Hansen Kirkpatrick, the Fourth of July will not be the same next year or the years that follow. This family became a Gold Star family on July 3, 2017, a sad designation, a somber honor that reminds us of their sacrifice for our nation.
May Army Private First Class Kirkpatrick rest in blessed peace.
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