GREENSBORO, NC, U.S.A.
U.S. ARMY
SPC, CO B, 2ND BN, 325TH AIRBORNE IN REG, 2 BCT, FORT BRAGG, NC
11/14/2011, BAGHDAD, IRAQ
While on patrol in Baghdad on November 14, 2011, SPC Hickman was killed by a roadside bomb that tore through the armored truck he was riding in.
David Emanuel Hickman was born on January 16, 1988. He was a lifelong resident of Greensboro, NC. He graduated from Northeast High School in 2006. He was an all conference outside linebacker for the Northeast Rams football team and team captain. David was an accomplished black belt in the art of Tae Kwon Do. He decided to enlist in the Army in 2009 as an infantryman.
As the bus left Fort Bragg and traveled to Greensboro, the White Falcons were transported to witness and pay respects at a memorial ceremony dedicated to fallen brother-in-arms SPC David Emanuel Hickman. Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division were present in Greensboro on August 16th to honor SPC Hickman, a White Falcon Paratrooper, the last American Soldier killed in combat in Iraq. The Paratroopers stepped off of the bus, and SSG Eric Brown led the formation of 28 White Falcon Paratroopers. They witnessed the naming ceremony honoring SPC Hickman and the memorialization of the community’s other Soldiers killed in action throughout the Global War on Terror. The ceremony included presentation of the colors, the singing of the Star Spangled Banner, a bagpiper playing Amazing Grace, prayers, a ribbon cutting, a 3 volley salute and the playing of Taps.
“It is our duty as Americans, to honor those heroic members of the armed forces who have served during the war and have lost their lives in the defense of our country or in the pursuit of our nation’s ideals of democracy,” said County Commissioner Alan Branson, as he read aloud the resolution for the monument. “It is imperative that we remember the selflessness and heroism of all who serve in the armed forces.”
“You feel a lot of things when you read those names,” said Logan Trainum, SPC Hickman’s close friend. “It’s our duty to convey what the price is to people who don’t know.” Several friends and Hickman family members and people representing the county’s other fallen service members spoke with attendees, adding anecdotes and memories. Back on the bus, SGT Samuel Johnson, a medic assigned to 2-325th AIR, shared thoughts of David Hickman. “He’s the strongest person I’ve ever met. Not just physically,but mentally. It was his whole demeanor. He really is an American hero.”
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