
Spc. Christopher A. Bartkiewicz had grown up near military bases in North Carolina and was lured to service.
“Being a part of the Army was something he’d always wanted to do,” said his mother-in-law, Carol Hubbard. “He was just a hardworking kid who wanted the best for his family. He knew when he went in that chances were great he’d go to Iraq.”
Bartkiewicz, 25, of Dunfermline, Ill., was killed Sept. 30 in Baghdad by small-arms fire. He was assigned to Baumholder, Germany.
“Bart was a great man and a loving father and husband. He was one of our brothers and will be missed,” Pfc. Eric Williams, a medic who treated Bartkiewicz’s injuries, wrote on his blog about his friend.
Bartkiewicz worked at a Morton factory and then at Coca-Cola in Bartonville before joining the Army about 1 1/2...