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Hartford -- George W. Hartford, a resident of Rio Rancho, passed away on Friday, June 2, 2000. He was born on February 21, 1934 to George and Sarah Sturgill Hartford in Virginia. He joined the Army at age 15 in 1949. He completed Basic Training in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and assigned to the Old Guard at Fort Myer, VA. He was eventually reassigned from the 350th Infantry in Austria to Fort Dix, NJ for discharge for being underage. In 1951 he became of age and reenlisted. Shortly after, in 1952, he found himself in Korea assigned to the 7th Infantry Division. He completed his tour of combat in 1953. His assignment included Fort Gordon, Georgia, from 1953 to 1954 and was then transferred to Germany until 1958, where he completed Airborn and Jump Master School in Augsburg. He left Germany and was assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia, where he received his commission from Officer Candidate School in 1961 and completed Ranger School. He then left for Germany again until 1966 and then returned to Fort Benning until 1973 with two tours in Vietnam, during which, he was awarded the Silver Star, five Bronze Stars with Combat V and the Purple Heart. He first went to Vietnam in 1968 and during this tour his Senior Advisor was seriously wounded and he received a medal for bravery in the course of saving his life. In June of 1968 he too was wounded in a firefight. He returned to Fort Benning and began another tour in Vietnam from 1970 to 1971. He remained at Fort Benning until his transfer to Germany in 1973 and once again returned to the U.S. in 1976, where he was assigned to the ROTC Department at NMSU in Las Cruces and eventually retired from the Army in 1978. George was an officer with the Las Cruces Police Dept. from 1978 to 1988 and then left to work for the Hatch Police Dept., where he retired as Chief of Police in 1996. He has been the first resident of Rio Rancho to hold the title of State Commander Disabled American Veterans of New Mexico and was a member of the Sandoval Masonic Lodge No. 76 AF & AM, Shrine Ballut Abyad Temple, Scottish Rites, and Turquoise Chapter 71 Order of the Eastern Star. George is survived by his loving wife, Waltraud of Rio Rancho; sons, David and wife, B.J. of Rio Rancho, Michael Hartford and Yvette Dimartino of T or C, and Robert of Albuquerque; two sisters, Betty and Shirley; and one brother, Arvil; his beloved grandchildren, Micah, Daniel, Mekyle, and Zakary. George was a very loving husband, father and grandfather, and he will be dearly missed by all of his family and friends. Graveside services for George will be held on Tuesday, June 6, 2000, 1:00 p.m., at Santa Fe National Cemetery with the DAV presenting honors. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in George Hartford's name to DAV Chapter 5, c/o Rio Rancho Funeral Home, 2400 Southern Blvd., Rio Rancho, NM 87124 or to the American Cancer Society. Services are under the care of Rio Rancho Funeral Home, 2400 Southern Blvd., Rio Rancho, NM 87124, (505) 891-9192.
        Published on: Mon June 05, 2000