Nevada Guard’s ‘gentle giant’ among 59 killed in Las Vegas

Sgt. 1st Class Charleston Hartfield, a first sergeant with the Nevada Army National Guard’s 100th Quartermaster Company and Las Vegas Metro police officer, was one of the reported 59 killed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on Sunday.

He was 34.

Nevada Guardsmen who served with Hartfield — formerly of the 82nd Airborne Division before joining the Nevada Army National Guard in 2004 — described the 6-foot4, 247-pound soldier as a “gentle giant.”

“The biggest thing that sticks out from him, besides his enormous size, as tough as he was, that man was all love,” said Master Sgt. Lemuel Iniguez, a Nevada Army National Guard recruiter who led an Army combatives class with Hartfield for eight years. “He would do anything for his soldiers, if they needed it, without question, without fail. He was that kind of a soldier. If you were a good troop or needed help, he’d do anything for you.”

Las Vegas Metro Police identified Stephan Paddock, 64, as the man who opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, killing at least 59 and injuring hundreds at the country music concert before taking his own life. Additionally, one California Guardsman and his wife were wounded by gunshots and received medical attention. They are both expected to survive. Also, one Nevada Guard Airman was injured fleeing the event; her injuries are non-life threatening.

Hartfield, known as Charles or “ChuckyHart,” served 16 years in the U.S. Army (12 in the Nevada Army National Guard). He served one, year-long deployment to Iraq in 2003.

“He was the kind of soldier you wanted to deploy with,” said Sgt. 1st Class Pak Castillo, a Nevada National Guard personnel sergeant. “He was the type of soldier you wanted to work with, but would also like to hang out with outside of work. He was a great man.”

During his military career, Hartfield received two Army Commendation Medals and five Army Achievement Medals. Before becoming the first sergeant for the 100th Quartermaster, Hartfield was an instructor at the Nevada Army National Guard’s 421st Regional Training Institute. Hartfield also coached a youth football team in Las Vegas.

The Nevada National Guard held a internal memorial for Hartfield at the North Las Vegas Readiness Center on Tuesday. A vigil was also held Monday at Ed Fountain Park in Las Vegas.

Brig. Gen. William Burks, the adjutant general of the Nevada National Guard, said losing any member of the Guard family is difficult, especially in such an unexpected manner: “Charleston Hartfield lived to serve the public and protect his family, he is the epitome of a citizen-soldier.”

Earlier this year, Hartfield published a book on his work in the Las Vegas Metro Police Department titled “Memoirs of a Public Servant.”

In the book, Hartfield — married with two children — talks at length about his career and Las Vegas.

The final sentence of the book reads: “To the WORLD you may be but ONE person, but to ONE person you may be the WORLD.”