Hilda Clayton

Spc. Hilda I. Ortiz Clayton[lower-alpha 2] (May 21, 1991 – July 2, 2013) was a U.S. Army combat photographer who was killed in 2013 when a mortar accidentally exploded during an Afghan training exercise. She captured the explosion that killed her and four Afghan soldiers.[1] She was assigned to the 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) 21st Signal Brigade, Fort Meade, Maryland.[2] Ortiz Clayton was the first combat documentation and production specialist to be killed in Afghanistan.[3]

Spc.

Hilda Clayton
Born
Hilda I. Ortiz-Suarez[lower-alpha 1]

(1991-05-21)May 21, 1991
Augusta, Georgia, US
DiedJuly 2, 2013(2013-07-02) (aged 22)
Jalalabad, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan
Cause of deathExplosion
Resting placeHillcrest Memorial Park in Augusta, Georgia
OccupationU.S. Army combat photographer

Early life

Ortiz Clayton was born on May 21, 1991, in Augusta, Georgia to Ellis Ortiz and Evelyn Suarez, She graduated in 2009 from Westside High School in Augusta.[4] Ortiz Clayton, who was of Puerto Rican descent, was married to Specialist Chase E. Clayton, member of Charlie Company 1-30 IN 2 ABCT, 3rd Infantry in Fort Stewart, GA.[4]

Military service
Ortiz Clayton's photo as the mortar shell exploded.

On July 2, 2013, Ortiz Clayton, who was then a visual information specialist with 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera), was photographing the training of Afghan National Army soldiers at Jalalabad, Laghman Province, Afghanistan.[5] She was photographing the live firing of a mortar, but the mortar shell exploded while in the launch tube.[6][7] Ortiz Clayton and an Afghan soldier took pictures at about the same time.

Various sources have been conflicting about who took which picture. Stars and Stripes, Military Review, CBS News and Fox News credit the above photo to Ortiz Clayton.[1][8][9][10] Army Times attributes another picture to Ortiz Clayton.[11]

Ortiz Clayton's photograph was made public in the U.S. Army's Military Review in May 2017 by permission of her family and received widespread press attention from, among others, The New York Times, Time magazine and the BBC.[5][9][12][13]

Burial

Ortiz Clayton's funeral was held at the Poteet Funeral Home, She was buried in the Veterans Plot section of the Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Augusta, Georgia.

  • The 55th Signal Company named their annual competitive award for combat camera work "The Spc. Hilda I. Clayton Best Combat Camera (COMCAM) Competition" in her honor.[9]
  • Ortiz Clayton was honored in 2017 in the May–June issue of the U.S. Army journal Military Review as part of a feature on gender equality in the Army.[14]

Military awards decorations

Amongst SPC. Ortiz Clayton's military awards and decorations are the following:

Badge

  • Marksman Weapons Qualification Badge

See also

Notes
  1. In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ortiz and the second or maternal family name is Suarez.
  2. In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ortiz and the second or maternal family name is Clayton.

References
  1. Martin, David (May 3, 2017). "Army combat photographer's last picture is of her own death". CBS News. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  2. Hart, John (May 2, 2017). "Local Army photographer honored nearly four years after death". WJBF. Augusta, Georgia. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  3. Military-Review
  4. "Hilda Clayton's Obituary". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved 25 July 2018 – via Legacy.com.
  5. Katz, Andrew (2 May 2017). "The Story Behind an Army Combat Photographer's Final Picture". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  6. Brown, Wesley (4 July 2013). "Official: Training explosion killed Augusta Army photographer". The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  7. Gardiner, Thomas (3 May 2017). "Army releases Spc. Hilda Clayton's final photographs". The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  8. Fichtl, Marcus (1 May 2017). "Army releases images of combat photographer's final moments before fatal blast". Stripes.com. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  9. "Spc. Hilda I. Clayton: May 21, 1991 to July 2, 2013". Military Review: The Professional Journal of the U.S. Army. Army University Press. May–June 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  10. "Army photographer captures her own death in mortar explosion". Fox News. Fox Broadcasting Company. Associated Press. 3 May 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  11. Diamond, Christopher (1 May 2017). "Army releases combat photographer's last photos before fatal explosion". Army Times. Sightline Media Group. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  12. Hauser, Christine (5 May 2017). "A Fatal and Fiery Photograph Reawakens Memories of a Soldier's Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  13. "US photographer captured moment of her death in Afghanistan". BBC News. BBC. 3 May 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  14. Newsweek
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