U.S. Army Sergeant Adam Hartswick, age 22, of Pine Grove Mills was severely wounded in the Afghanistan war on May 14, 2013 when he and members of his platoon came to the aid of an ambushed foot patrol.
An improvised explosive device (IED) blast knocked him down, killing an explosive ordnance disposal squad leader and wounding three soldiers. After he treated the wounded, someone shouted that the squad leader, his friend, lay in a nearby river.
Not realizing his friend was dead, Hartswick rushed to him, and a second IED exploded. The blast severed both of Hartswick’s legs above the knees, as well as both index fingers and part of one thumb.
He was still conscious after the blast and maintained the presence of mind to instruct Lieutenant Richard Newton on how to treat the wounds. He told Newton to put the tourniquets high and tight on his legs. Hartswick credits the quick action of Newton for saving his life.
“I always knew if I got hurt, these guys could save my life,” says Hartswick.
Hartswick was recently honored at a dinner sponsored by the Centre County New Car Dealers Association, organized by Joel Confer. The dinner was held at the former showroom of Joel Confer Ford on the Benner Pike near Bellefonte.
The building has been converted into a restaurant called TJ Colts, which will open in a few weeks. Hartswick and his family attended along with about 25 auto dealership personnel and friends. The dealers presented Hartswick with checks totaling $35,000 to help with his medical and living expenses.
“We had a meeting and raised $35,000 in about an hour,” says Confer.
After the meal, Mason Finocchio, the teenage son of family friend spoke to the group, telling how he had sent care packages to Adam in Afghanistan. Finocchio said that when he heard what had happened to Hartswick, he couldn’t sleep that night. He called Hartswick “a good friend and hero of mine.”
Hartswick, a 2009 State College Area High School graduate, comes from family with a tradition of military service. Both of his grandfathers served during World War II. Max Hummel, the late father of Hartswick’s mother Morgen Hummel, landed at Omaha Beach two days after the Normandy invasion. Hartswick’s father, Sean Hartswick has served in the military for 33 years.
At State College Area High School, a teacher recruited Hartswick into the school’s emergency medical treatment training program. For a year, he volunteered with Centre LifeLink EMS, riding in ambulances with emergency medical technicians. At age 17, he chose to pursue a military medic career. After graduation, he completed his medical training at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, and last December, he was deployed to Afghanistan.
In July, Hartswick was granted a day’s leave from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he was rehabilitating, and made a trip to State College to ride in the 4th Fest Parade of Heroes. The parade was a celebration of the men and women who have served their country in the military services.
“It felt good to be honored, but I also felt guilty because I had four friends die that day, and I thought they should have been the ones who were honored,” says Hartswick.
Hartswick is very grateful to the car dealers for their generous contributions to him.
“It’s so overwhelming, the support from this community, particularly these guys tonight — I don’t know what to say,” said Hartswick.
He plans to use the money to purchase a vehicle equipped with hand controls to allow him to drive, and he looks forward to obtaining a new set of prosthetic legs equipped with computerized sensors which will aid his walking.
