Specialist James Heath Pirtle, USA

James Heath Pirtle was born in Carlsbad NM on May 6, 1976 to Kay Pirtle. After graduating from Carlsbad High in 1994, Pirtle found welding jobs in Artesia and Amarillo. After working in Denver for a while, he returned to New Mexico and attended NMSU- Dona Ana Branch Community College in Las Cruces. He joined the US Army on April 27, 2001. He was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, five months later. At Fort Hood, he was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, and trained as a crew member in the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. He was featured in a photo in Time magazine before heading off to the Middle East. The division was sent to Iraq in March 2003. On October 4, 2003 during Operation Iron Horse, insurgents ambushed Corporal Pirtle's Bradley Fighting Vehicle as it ran a security mission near Assadah, Iraq. A rocket-propelled grenade ripped a hole in the front, and Corporal James Heath Pirtle died instantly. He was 26 years of age at the time of his death and is survived by his wife and daughter, who was born 1 month after his death. His mother Kay lives in Silver City and today he is remembered by the annual James Heath Pirtle “Walk for the Heroes” between Hurley and Deming.