Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Maryland's Sixty-Seventh Hero


edelmanlhernandez
Originally uploaded by Randuwa
Army Sgt. Edelman L. Hernandez, 23, of Hyattsville, Md.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died April 11 in Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, while on combat patrol. The incident is under investigation.

HE WAS A DECORATED SOLDIER WHO WAS NOT ALLOWED TO COME HOME

Sgt. Edelman L. Hernandez, 23, of Hyattsville, Md., was on a foot patrol last Wednesday near Babyal Village when he lost his footing and fell into a deep section of the river. Other members of his unit immediately began a search to locate Hernandez. His body was recovered Thursday morning at some distance downstream, according to a release from Fort Drum.

Military officials announced Hernandez’s death last week, but provided no details.

In Lanham, the family of Sgt. Edelman L. Hernandez, of Hyattsville, grieves.

A Hyattsville native, Hernandez joined the Army in April 2003, after completing boot camp at Fort Benning, Ga. That October he was assigned to Fort Drum's 10th Mountain Division.

He deployed to Iraq with his battalion, the "Chosin Battalion," in December 2003 and served there until the following September.

During that deployment, he earned a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal, among other awards.

In February, Hernandez completed another year's combat service in Afghanistan and a four-year commitment to the Army, but he was not allowed to go home.

His unit was ordered by the Pentagon in late January to stay in the combat zone another 120 days.

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