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By Jay King
HOMETOWN NEWS
For those who knew him best, the life and death of Army Capt. David Hortman represents both the triumph and the tragedy of a life so full of accomplishment and yet more potential that was cut short during a training accident on Aug. 8 at Fort Benning, Ga.
To the members of the church he grew up in, Hortman’s death doing what he loved is both a source of intense heartache and of immense pride. Sharing those dueling emotions and coming to terms with the death of a young man universally described as a genuine American hero has dominated the members of Central Church of Christ in Spartanburg for the past week.
A combat veteran with three tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Hortman and fellow pilot CWO3 Steven Redd died when their AH-6M Little Bird helicopter crashed during training at a live-fire range on Fort Benning. Both men were members of 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment based at Fort Campbell, KY.
As an example of the character, compassion and thoughtfulness Hortman exhibited throughout his life, he left prior instructions with the Army in case of his death to contact a family from Central so they could be with his mother, Brenda, when she was given the news that her son had died.
For the rest of the story, read this week’s Inman Times.
Photo by Jay King
A community and church family are grieving after Army Capt. David Hortman, seen here in March 2006 shortly after earning his Ranger tab, was killed in a helicopter training accident at Fort Benning, GA, August 8.
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