| Soldier who died in Iraq had bullet wound to head |
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| Wednesday, 07 October 2009 | |
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by Peter Bodley Managing editor The military was a significant part of Maj. Tad Hervas’ life from the time he was a college student. Hervas, 48, a Minnesota Army National Guard officer, died Oct. 6 at Contingency Operating Base Basra, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was found with a gunshot wound to his head, according to a statement Tuesday by Lt. Col. Kevin Olson, spokesman for the 34th Infantry Division, in which Hervas was serving. An investigation is being conducted by the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command on the cause of death, Olson said. “A thorough investigation, which will include forensics, weapons testing and an analysis of circumstance prior to his death, will determine a conclusion after all factors have been considered,” the statement says. No specific details are provided on open investigations, Olson said. Funeral service for Hervas will take place tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 17), 10 a.m., at Zion Lutheran Church, Anoka, with visitation at the church at 9 a.m. Visitation will also take place this evening (Friday, Oct. 16), 4 to 8 p.m., at the Washburn-McReavy Coon Rapids Chapel. Interment will be at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. According to Ned Hervas, his son’s body arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Maryland late last week, where an autopsy was performed. Hervas’ body, clothed in his dress blues for burial, was flown to Minnesota Wednesday on the Fallen Soldier airplane, Ned Hervas said. His older brother, Todd, flew to Dover AFB Tuesday to accompany his brother’s body back home. “The Army has been wonderful making the arrangements,” he said. “I am really proud of the Army.” Hervas was born in Wisconsin on Jan. 16, 1961, but the family moved to Coon Rapids in 1966 and he grew up in the community, attending Morris Bye Elementary School, Coon Rapids Junior High School and Coon Rapids High School, from which he graduated in 1979. He was a member of the Coon Rapids High School football team that went to the state championship final as a starting linebacker - he also played some quarterback - and he was the downhill ski team captain his senior year. It was at the University of Minnesota Duluth that Hervas began his military career, joining the ROTC at the university and then enlisting in the U.S. Air Force after graduation in 1984. “Tad was really proud of his country and wanted to serve,” Ned Hervas said. “He really hoped to be a pilot, but his eyes were not good enough.” Hervas’ job in the USAF was as a navigator aboard tanker planes refueling Strategic Air Command (SAC) bombers, first at the Minot, N.D., Air Force Base, then in Carswell, Texas. His first tour of duty in the Middle East came during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. In fact, according to Ned Hervas, his son was involved in the opening bombing campaign of the war as a navigator on refueling planes. “The first night of the war, Jan. 16, was on his 30th birthday,” his father said. Hervas left the Air Force in June 1992 after his service in the Gulf War. But the Sept. 11, 2011 terrorist attacks on the United States brought Hervas back to the military. “He wanted to go back into the USAF on active duty, but they told him he was too old,” Ned Hervas said. Hervas was 40, but the Minnesota Army National Guard was happy to have Hervas join its ranks because of his Air Force experience providing air support to troops on the ground, according to his father. His first National Guard deployment to Iraq was from 2005 to 2006 as a commander of an air defense unit based in Cloquet. This involved patrolling an area of Baghdad. For his second deployment, which began in December 2008, Hervas was a military intelligence officer based in Basra. “It was much safer there,” said Ned Hervas. “His first deployment in Baghdad was really dangerous.” Hervas’ work in Basra involved coordinating missile attacks from the unmanned Predator aircraft. “They did get two of the high profile Al-Qaeda terrorists on the Iran border,” Ned Hervas said. Hervas had just returned to Iraq Oct. 1 after two weeks of leave at home, which involved visits with family members, a fly fishing trip with older brother Kurt, who is 11 months older that Hervas, and doing work around the house, according to his father. “Tad was so happy and pleased that everything was going so well,” Ned Hervas said. Indeed, Hervas was thinking about extending his deployment in Iraq another month beyond his scheduled return home, which was in February 2010, he said. Word of their son’s death came to the Hervas family Oct. 6 when two members of the military came to the door. “When two soldiers knock on the door, you know right away what it means, but you still don’t expect it,” Ned Hervas said. In civilian life, Hervas worked for a gas furnace installation company and between the time he left the USAF and joined the National Guard after 9/11, he was employed by Minnegasco selling furnaces in Anoka County. Hervas was divorced and had no children. He had a home in Coon Rapids. “Tad enjoyed the military,” Ned Hervas said. “He just liked military life. “He had a very important job to do and he was willing to do it.” And the men that served under Hervas thought the world of his son, according to Ned Hervas. In an Internet posting after the new of Hervas’ death, one enlisted man wrote that unlike many officers, Hervas was not pompous and always stopped to talk, Ned Hervas said. There was never a commander better than him, the posting stated. Hervas is survived by his parents, Ned and Barbara; four brothers; and a sister. Hervas proudly served his country with HHC 34th Infantry Division, according to 1st Lt. John Hobot, public affairs officer, Minnesota National Guard. He was assigned to the Minnesota National Guard’s 34th Infantry Division, Rosemount. Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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