2026-07-06 19:34:35 Soldier from Bowie dies in Iraq – NEW WTOP Skip to main content

Soldier from Bowie dies in Iraq

hilty
Sergeant 1st Class John Hilty’s death was announced by the Department of Defense on Wednesday. (Courtesy Fort Hood Press Center/U.S. Army)

A soldier from Bowie, Maryland, died in a noncombat incident in Iraq, the defense department said.

The Department of Defense said Sgt. 1st Class John David Randolph Hilty died Monday.

Hilty, 44, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas.

He was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve in Erbil, Iraq.

According to a story in Army Times, his career started in 1999 and he was deployed to Afghanistan three times before starting his most recent deployment to Iraq in October 2019.

The Department of Defense told Army Times on Tuesday that complications from coronavirus are not considered a cause of death. The incident remains under investigation.

How a viral tweet helped a Prince George’s Co. baker’s business soar

Taylor Hampton doesn’t yet have a website for her baking business Simply Sweet Treats, but the Largo, Maryland, baker has seen her business soar after one of her recent tweets went viral. Hampton turned to social media about a year ago to advertise a "Moana"-themed cake she crafted, hoping to gain a few new followers and boost sales. A tweet highlighting that cake received a few hundred retweets. She was hoping for the same result when she tweeted an image of cupcakes suggesting “it costs $0.00 to retweet and help me get exposure.” But this time around, the July 26 tweet secured more than 100,000 retweets and more than 120,000 likes and resulted in an influx of orders.
Read Next Story