BRADENTON
Army Sgt. William E. Hasenflu endlessly put others before himself, crafting a life dedicated to family, friends and country.
The Bradenton resident's military career started with the Navy, when he enlisted at age 17.
In the late 1990s, while in the Navy Reserves, he helped rehabilitate a man through a massive head injury. The man later became his best friend.
Then after joining the Army in 2001, Sgt. Hasenflu tried to coax his ill mother to move in with his wife and their three children so he could care for her.
On Sunday, just one day shy of his 39th birthday, Sgt. Hasenflu was killed during fighting in Afghanistan.
"He was always there for everybody," his mother, Jane Mann, said Tuesday, while sitting on the couch inside her Mallorca Drive home in Bradenton. "He is a hero to his family, to me, to everybody."
A cavalry scout with the 101st Airborne Division, Sgt. Hasenflu died in the Jaji District of Afghanistan when his unit was ambushed by enemy forces using small arms fire while taking detainees into custody, according to the Department of Defense.
He is the first serviceman with ties to Manatee County to be killed in the Afghan war, which started in October 2001.
Of his 16 years of military service, Sgt. Hasenflu spent nine years with the Navy and seven with the Army.
"He was a patriot," said his father, Earl Hasenflu, of Sarasota. "He loved his country, and he loved his flag. He was willing to pay the ultimate price for this country to keep him free. Unfortunately, that is what happened.
Mann recalled the day her son enlisted in the Navy - without her permission.
"He came home at 17 and said, 'Mom, I knew if I told you, you wouldn't let me,' " Mann said, cracking a smile below heavy eyes.
After leaving the Navy, Sgt. Hasenflu spent three years in the Navy Reserves. During that time, he volunteered at local veterans centers, taught martial arts, worked as a Red Cross instructor and helped at his mother's former day-care center in Bradenton.
Also during that time, he helped Bradenton resident Michael Mendoza recover from a severe head injury he suffered in an Army training accident.
They soon became best friends.
"He helped me practice cooking and tutored me," Mendoza said Tuesday. "No matter how negative the situation, he brought out the positive. He helped focus people on what they could do as opposed to what they couldn't."
Sgt. Hasenflu enlisted in the Army in 2001.
"He was trying to make a career out of it," his mom said. "He'd say, 'Mom, I'm so close (to my pension).' "
Mann said she wasn't thrilled, but said she respected her son's decision.
"You have to let him fulfill his wishes," she said, then touched a photo of her son, his wife, Judith Corbeau-Hasenflu and their daughters, Savannah, 16; Ashley, 15; and Veronica, 4.
Recently, Sgt. Hasenflu called his mother from Iraq and asked her to move into his family's home in Cadiz, Ky.
Mann, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, said her son was continually concerned about her health.
"He said, 'Let me take care of you,' " she said. "He was always worried about the other person."
In the end, Mann said she is proud of her son, but that she and his father are disappointed their son returned to the Middle East for a fourth tour.
"The military forced him to go," Mann said. "No man should be made to go four times, especially an only son."
Added Earl Hasenflu, "He tried to get out of it, get a different detail, but they more or less made him go. Even though he was not derelict in his duty. He was out there doing his job."
Sgt. Hasenflu's funeral will taken place in Fort Campbell, Ky., his mother said. A date has not been announced.
Sgt. Hasenflu, who is also survived by his sister, Lisa Sheffield, of Meadville, Pa., was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based at Fort Campbell.
He was the recipient of numerous awards and decorations for his service in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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