Sgt. Aaron Xavier Wittman Memorial Bridge to be dedicated in November

CHESTER — A bridge in Chester will soon be renamed for a hometown hero who gave his life in the War on Terror.

This past Wednesday, the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors voted to rename the West Hundred Road Bridge after Sgt. Aaron Wittman, a US Army soldier killed in the line of duty in 2013.

Sgt. Aaron Xavier Wittman, a native of Chester, Virginia, was born on Nov. 6, 1984 and graduated from Lloyd C. Bird High School in 2003, where he was a wrestler and on the track team.

He served in the South Carolina Army National Guard while a student at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, deploying to Afghanistan with the 218th Brigade Combat Team in 2007. Sergeant Wittman enlisted in the United States Army in 2010 after completing his education at The Citadel.

He deployed for his second combat tour in Afghanistan in 2012 with the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. On Jan. 10, 2013 Sergeant Aaron Xavier Wittman died from wounds sustained while returning enemy fire to protect and save the lives of his combat team when his unit, which was on mounted patrol, came under small arms fire in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

While several members of the unit suffered injuries, he was the only soldier that didn't survive. The LC Bird graduate was posthumously awarded both the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for his actions, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

The West Hundred Road Bridge will now be named "The Sergeant Aaron Xavier Wittman Memorial Bridge" in honor of his heroism and sacrifice.

The official dedication ceremony is set for Nov. 6, 2016, just prior to Veteran’s Day, on what would have been Wittman’s 32nd birthday.

• Sean CW Korsgaard may be reached at skorsgaard@progress-index.com or 804-722-5172.