On Sunday, the bridge on West Hundred Road in Chester was named in honor of fallen Sgt. Aaron X. Wittman, U.S. Army. At a ceremony at Chester Village Green, the bridge was officially named the Sergeant Aaron Xavier Wittman Memorial Bridge. Representatives and alumni from The Citadel, Military College of South Carolina, where Wittman graduated, attended the ceremony. Lt. Col. Jack W. Parker Jr., U.S. Army and The Citadel Class of 1987, read a poem that he wrote in Wittman’s honor.
Wittman died on Jan. 10, 2013, while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom. Wittman was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Georgia. He died in the Khogyani district of Afghanistan, from injuries caused by small-arms fire.
Wittman graduated from L.C. Bird High School in 2003, where he lettered in both wrestling and track. He then followed his family’s proud military tradition by attending The Citadel, Lima Company Class of 2007. He served in the South Carolina National Guard while attending
The Citadel and was deployed, along with other classmates, to Afghanistan with the 218th Brigade Combat Team in 2007. After returning from his deployment in 2008, he returned to the Citadel as a veteran student, completed his last semester, and graduated with the Class of 2009. Wittman enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2010. He received numerous awards, including the Purple Heart and Bronze Star posthumously.
“We are proud that we can recognize Aaron by naming this bridge in his honor,” said Steve Elswick, chairman of the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors. “It is a fitting way to memorialize his life and the sacrifices he made to defend our country.”
He is survived by his parents; Duane and Carol Wittman; a brother, Capt. Nicholas Wittman, U.S. Marine Corps, and wife Rikki Felts Wittman; and wife Rikki Felts Wittman; a sister, Amber Wittman and husband CW4 Billy Frittz, U.S. Army; two grandmothers, Betty Wittman and Tommi Contreras; and two nephews.
