[Byrne]
Thomas Charles Hartman was born, Friday, June 10th., 1927 at his
parents house on Blair Street in Three Rivers, Live Oak Co., Texas.
He was baptized July 4th, 1927 in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in
Three Rivers by Rev. J. J. Chrzarnowski. His sponsors were John R. and
Josephine Byrne, his grandparents went by the name of Tom or
Tomy by all who knew him. When he was to start to school, his mother
had a hard time convincing him to go. He said he didn't want to go
because he didn't know any thing. I remember thing in his life like
the time our uncle Arthur Byrne came by the house to see our mother
before school one morning and he was going to take us to school in his
car. Tom got into the back seat and shut the door, probably a little
too hard, and an arrow head shape of glass the full width of the glass
fell out and went into Toms thigh. Needless to say we were tardy for
school that morning. I remember another time when we were pretty
young, Tom and I had a fire going in the back yard. We found an old
inner tube out a a tire and found the rubber would burn real good.
In those days the inner tubes were made of real rubber. We had the
rubber burning and were pulling it out of the fire with a stick and
watching it burn up in the air. Tom held the stick too straight up in
the air and a piece of melted burning rubber dropped off and fell on
the top of his wrist. He had a raised scar on his wrist that he kept
until the day he died. Tom was inducted in the United States Army the
first time on February 1st, 1946 and discharged with an Honorable
Discharge on April 18th 1947. I believe he was drafted in to the army
instead of enlisting. He was a Pfc and a field lineman for the 71st
Signal Service Battalion in Tokyo, Japan. He reenlist in the U.S.
Army on July 7th 1961 and was discharged on June 25th 1964. He was
stationed in Badkissin, Germany. His serial number was the same for
both enlistments except the second time it had an "RA" in front of the
38764798 for Regular Army. He reached the rank of SP5F5 which is a
sergeant. Tom and Esperanza Soto Pantino were married February 17,
1965 in the Cathedral in Piedras Negras, Coahulla, Mexico. They lived
in Piedras Negras for several months while waiting for permission to
bring Esperanza into the United States. Esperanza's fathers name was
Soto and her mother's name was Pantino. Esperanza had a son, Juan
Manuel Soto, whom Tom adopted. Tom and Esperanza were blessed with the
birth of a daughter, Maria Guadalupe Hartman on August 20, 1967. Tom
died on Palm Sunday, April 8th, 1979 at the Hoff Clinic in Victoria,
Victoria Co., Texas. He was 51 years, 9 months and 29 days of age. He
is buried beside his wife, Experonsa Soto Hartman in the Three Rivers
Cemetery in Three Rivers, Live Oak Co., Texas. Their grave sight is
located in the North East Quadrant of the cemetery next to the east
fence.