|
April 17, 2007 10:03 am
|
Photos
|
Editor's notes: sending mugshot photo
gwilymnewman.jpg
Former student killed by enemy fire in Iraq
“I think he was a very able student who did quite good work,” Bensley said from his office Monday afternoon. “He seemed to be an independent thinker. He said what he thought in class.”
By Tai Shadrick
CNHI News Service
FROSTBURG, Md. — A former Frostburg State University student was killed Thursday while serving in Iraq.
Army 1st Lt. Gwilym Newman, 24, came under enemy small-arms fire while on patrol in Tarmiyah, Iraq, the Pentagon announced Saturday. Newman, formerly of Waldorf, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
“The university was saddened to learn the news of Gwilym Newman’s death while serving his country in Iraq,” FSU President Jonathan Gibralter said in a statement released Monday.
“He was remembered here as a committed student with a goal of helping others by becoming a doctor. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends at this difficult time.”
As a student at FSU, Newman majored in psychology with a minor in biology. In December 2002, the State Lines newsletter reported Newman was one of 17 members inducted in a new chapter of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology.
Professor Alan Bensley had Newman in class for a senior seminar in 2003, the year he graduated.
Bensley described Newman as a bright student whose paper on diagnosing attention deficit disorder still serves as a model for psychology students.
“I think he was a very able student who did quite good work,” Bensley said from his office Monday afternoon. “He seemed to be an independent thinker. He said what he thought in class.”
Newman is survived by his wife, Samantha, and their son, Gwilym. In addition to sharing his father’s name, young Gwilym also shares a birthday with his dad. Newman would have turned 25 on April 27. His son will be 2.
His mother, Christine Newman, told The (Baltimore) Sun that Gwilym joined the Army to support his family and pay for medical school. He started training camp in 2004 and began his first tour in Iraq in October.
Newman’s MySpace page, which lists his hometown as Barnegat, N.J., clearly reveals the father of one was a comic book fan, with images of Superman battling the Incredible Hulk as his background and animated Spidermans listed under his interests.
Several photos of him, his wife and son are posted as well, with one of his infant son titled “Proud 1st Cav baby.”
At least two comments from friends concerning his death were left on his page as of Monday afternoon. His last log in was April 10.
“He was the type of person who would make an impression on you,” Bensley said. “It’s such a shame.”
Tai Shadrick writes for the Cumberland (Md.) Times-News. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
|
