1st Lt. Robert Glenn Hartman

Mar. 27, 1945 - Oct 1, 1969

Chico

In 1967, Robert Hartman had completed his master’s in icthyology at the University of Michigan. He planned to return in September to pursue his doctorate in the same field. But his plans were stymied when he was drafted that summer.

Hartman was born in Santa Barbara, but moved to Chico at an early age. He attended Chico schools, where he excelled academically. When he graduated from Chico Senior High in 1962 Hartman was recognized as a scholar as well as a letterman in football and track.

In boot camp in Ft. Dix, New Jersey, Hart- man was “pulled out of his tent” and sent to officer candidate school. After training in various parts of the United States and in the jungles of Panama, Hartman’s platoon of the 199th Infantry was sent to Vietnam in February 1969.

The going wasn’t easy, and Hartman told his parents of spending days in leech-infested waters and being in battles where automatic weapons literally cut down the jungle.

Several months after he arrived in-country, Hartman stepped outside the perimeter of his defensive position to go after a young soldier. He was blown up by a Claymore mine.

The young officer did not die, but was sent to Camp Drake, Japan to recover from his wounds. His parents joined him there and learned he would be a paraplegic for life.

In late September 1969, Hartman was transferred to Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco. He was there less than a month when vicious infections overtook his body and he died.

Chico News & Review, May 26, 1988

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