FRED A. HARTMAN JR. ’68 †

Fred Hartman enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at the height of the Vietnam War, while he was still a student at John Carroll. He entered the Corps upon graduation. As an only child, Fred was exempt from serving in Vietnam, but -- as was his nature -- he volunteered because he believed he could save lives. He did. But in the process, he lost his own.

Though he was wounded shortly after he arrived there, Fred asked to return to the front lines with his men. He was in charge of a rifle platoon whose mission was to search out Viet Cong. When his unit moved into an open area, Fred knew they might be easy targets. He took the lead position to protect his point man. Fred was shot and killed by an enemy sniper. He was posthumously awarded two Purple Hearts and a Legion of Merit, just one year after he received his degree in political science from John Carroll.

His good friend, William Ward ’69, remembers Fred as a natural leader who played on the Blue Streaks basketball team and served as a proctor during his senior year.

“He was a guy you could easily talk to,” Bill says. “Many younger guys spent a lot of time in Fred’s little office. He was always listening to people and dispensing advice. He was an inspiration to people.”

Bill says that classmates who went to Vietnam with Fred worried about him because of the type of person he was. “He would never ask anyone to do anything he wouldn’t do. He was always at the front, and that’s how he got killed. Fred knew there were snipers in the area and he knew it was too dangerous to let his men be up front, so he put his own life on the line.”

For his involvement in and dedication to the University, his outstanding leadership, and his ultimate sacrifice, The John Carroll Alumni Association is honored to posthumously award Fred A. Hartman Jr. our 2009 Campion Shield.