Michael Pittman remembered

The last time he heard his brother’s voice, on a phone call from Iraq, Kirk Pittman heard someone excited about the future, rather than exhausted by the present.

Pfc. Michael Pittman, 34, told his brother he planned to re-enlist. Usually during conversations, the soldier’s voice belied the exhaustion of long patrols and assignments that brought with them little rest.

“He was real excited,” Kirk Pittman, of North Liberty, Iowa, said. “He asked me what I thought about it.”

Pfc. Pittman, a member of 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, out of Fort Riley, Kan., was killed Friday in Iraq.

He died of wounds suffered in an insurgent attack involving an improvised explosive device and small arms fire, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Memorial services will be held at Fort Riley and in the Quad-Cities.

The Quad-City service will be at 10 a.m. Friday at First Assembly of God, 1811 18th St., Bettendorf, his mother, Sandra Hughes of Rock Island, said Monday night.

Jennefer Pittman, Michael Pittman’s widow, met with Army officials at Fort Riley on Monday afternoon to make the arrangements. Michael had two other siblings, both older, sister Beckie Wilson, and brother Mark Woodruff.

The family is taking Michael Pittman’s death hard.

“I think we are still in shock,” Kirk Pittman, 36, said. “Michael was very much loved. It is a huge loss.”

Kirk Pittman called his younger brother “my best friend.” When Michael Pittman lived in Davenport, the brothers worked together painting houses.

“We spent all of our time time together,” he said. “There wasn’t a day we didn’t talk.”

Kirk and Michael shared a bond through the military. Kirk Pittman had served in the Army. Even from around the world, they still talked as often as they could.

Pittman and his wife, Jennefer, have four children, Reannah, 12, Micah, 10, Christian, 8, and Joy, 5.

From the Quad Cities Times

Related Link:
Michael P. Pittman dies 'of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire'