Army Sgt. Timothy P. Padgett

Died May 8, 2007 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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28, of DeFuniak Springs, Fla.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died May 8 in Tarin Kwot, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his unit was attacked by enemy forces during combat patrol operations.

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North Carolina-based Marine, Special Forces soldier killed

The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. — A Fort Bragg, N.C.-based Special Forces soldier was killed in Afghanistan, and a North Carolina-based Marine died in Iraq this week, the Department of Defense said May 10.

Sgt. Timothy P. Padgett, 28, of DeFuniak Springs, Fla., died May 8 in Tarin Kwot, Afghanistan, military officials said. He suffered fatal wounds when his unit was attacked by enemy forces during combat patrol operations. Padgett was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, at Fort Bragg.

Padgett was an Army Ranger Medic and former firefighter and paramedic with the South Walton Fire District in Florida.

“Tim was a much-loved and respected firefighter with our department,” a statement by the South Walton Fire District said. “Tim enjoyed helping others, and it was this attribute that led him to the fire service and then on to bravely serving his country as a member of the United States military.”

Padgett was a lifelong resident of Walton County, The News Herald of Panama City, Fla., reported.

The Department of Defense also announced the death of a Camp Lejeune Marine. Lance Cpl. Walter K. O’Haire, 20, of Lynn, Mass., died May 9 while conducting combat operations in Anbar province. He was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force.

O’Haire attended South Shore Vocational-Technical High School in Hanover, Mass. Family friend Donna Ward-Milord told The Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Mass., that O’Haire was likable and enjoyed helping others.

“He wanted to serve in Iraq,” she said. “He was excited about going into the Marines and helping his country.”

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Hundreds watch as soldier’s casket arrives at base

The Associated Press

DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla. — Among the hundreds gathered at the hometown airport of an Army medic killed in Afghanistan as his casket was unloaded from a helicopter was his 8-year-old daughter, Summer.

The girl turned 8 and received presents in the mail from her father, Tim Padgett, the same day she learned he had been killed in combat, her mother told The Northwest Florida Daily News on May 14.

Earlier, about 800 airmen paid their respects to Padgett at Hurlburt Field when his body arrived there early May 14 from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. His body was then flown by helicopter to his hometown of DeFuniak Springs.

Staff Sgt. Keith Batchelder, who served with Padgett, stood among the mourners at the DeFuniak Springs Municipal Airport.

“It was an honor to serve with him,” Batchelder told the newspaper.

Padgett grew up in DeFuniak Springs and graduated from Walton High School in 1997. Before he joined the Army, he was a firefighter/paramedic with the South Walton Fire District.

Padgett was scheduled to be buried May 16.