Ralph J. Harting III
Captain, United States Army
August 19, 1976 – April 29, 2005
Age – 28
Union Lake, MI
Operation Iraqi Freedom
2nd Squadron, 11 Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Irwin, CA
Killed while conducting vehicle inspection operations in Diyarah, Iraq.
Capt. Ralph J. Harting III, 28, and Capt. Stephen Frank, 29, died Friday while inspecting a truck at a checkpoint in Iraq. The driver detonated a bomb, killing himself and the two officers.
Jay, as he was called, applied to all four service academies and was accepted at each, enrolling at the U.S. Military Academy. He graduated in 1998 with a mechanical engineering degree; his classmates included Frank, who earned a geography degree.
Jay took up soccer at age 5, eventually becoming a state champion goalkeeper and a member of the Olympic development soccer team. He played the piano and the baritone horn and sang in the school choir. Harting graduated from West Point in 1998 with a mechanical engineering degree. Days before his death, Harting asked his wife to proofread a letter to the family of a corporal who died. “He felt sick and awful inside, but he told me not to worry,” she said. “He said that he’d be safe and that he’d e-mail me that letter. I never ended up receiving it.”
CPT Harting’s awards include: Purple Heart, Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal (1 oak leaf clusters), National Defense Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Multinational Force Observer Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Ranger Tab, Sapper Tab, Parachutist’s Badge, and the Air Assault Badge.