Freedom Remembered

Born: September 6, 1985 in Manteca, California
Died: October 3, 2009 in Kamdesh, Afghanistan,

Sgt Joshua M. Hardt of Applegate, California graduated in 2004 from Placer High School where he was such a talented football player that the high school retired his helmet. After realizing of the opportunities available to him, he enlisted in the Army soon after graduation, following in his brothers footsteps. Josh’s future seemed bright with so much going for him. He had recently gotten married and had a job in the military that he loved. Josh was currently serving his second deployment, having previously served in Iraq from May 2007 through June 2008. He deployed to Afghanistan on May 22, 2009. His awards and decorations include, The Bronze Star Medal, The Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal – 2, Army Achievement Medal – 1, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal w/ Campaign Star, Iraq Campaign Medal w/ Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Medal, NATO Medal, Combat Action Badge. Joshua is the son of Shelley Bell and Michael Hardt. He is survived by his wife Olivia, brothers Sgt Jonathon Hardt, Brother Jeffery Hardt, Grandparents, Herbert (deceased) and Patricia Hardt, Grandparents Sharon Heisey, John Loughlin. Josh died at age 24 in Kamdesh, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his contingency outpost with small arms, rocket-propelled grenade and indirect fires. Also killed in the battle were, Staff Sgt. Vernon W. Martin, Sgt. Justin T. Gallegos, Sgt. Joshua J. Kirk, Sgt. Michael P. Scusa, Spc. Christopher T. Griffin, Spc. Stephan L. Mace and Pfc. Kevin C. Thomson.

Army
3rd Squadron
61st Cavalry Regiment
4th Brigade Combat Team
4th Infantry Division
Fort Carson, Colorado

Burial is at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon, California – Sec 3 Site 89

The Sgt Joshua Mitchell Hardt by Freedom Remembered, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.