Marine recruit at Parris Island dies from ‘non-training incident’
We mourn the death of Marine Pvt. Marshall Hartman.
An 18-year-old Marine recruit who had been at recruit training for less than a week died “from a non-training incident” at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, Corps officials announced Friday.
Marine Pvt. Marshall Hartman died on June 12. Hartman was in his sixth day of recruit training, according to a news release from Parris Island.
Marine Corps officials have not yet released any information about the “non-training incident” in which Hartman died.
“The incident is currently under investigation, and it would be premature to speculate on the details of the investigation,” Maj. Philip Kulczewski, a Parris Island spokesman, told Task & Purpose on Friday.
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Originally from Prescott, Michigan, Hartman was assigned to Delta Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment.
Hartman’s death comes nearly two months after Marine Pfc. Noah Evans died at Parris Island on April 18. Evans, 21, was taking his unit’s final physical fitness test at the time of his death.
The Marine Corps trains thousands of recruits each year and deaths during boot camp are relatively infrequent. In addition to Hartman and Evans, three other people have died at Parris Island since 2021: Marine Pvt. Anthony Munoz, 21; Marine Pfc. Dalton Beals, 19; and Marine Pfc. Brandon Barnish, 26, who had graduated from boot camp and was recovering from an injury when he died.
Beals died on June 4, 2021 during The Crucible, a grueling 54-hour event that marks the culmination of recruit training. An investigation later found that his death was “likely avoidable,” and Parris Island drill instructor Staff Sgt. Steven T. Smiley was charged with negligent homicide and other offenses in connection with Beals’ death.
One Marine has also died during recruit training on the West Coast in recent years. Pfc. Javier Pong died on September 27, 2022 while conducting training at Camp Pendleton California. He was in the eighth week of training at the time of his death.
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