BRUNSWICK

Army Capt. David C. Haas, 30, of Brunswick, died Friday while serving in South Korea.

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, announced Haas’ death over the weekend in a statement that did not include his cause of death, which could not be confirmed by press time.

Haas, who served two tours in Iraq, was serving with the 403rd Field Support Brigade stationed in Korea and graduated from the University of Richmond in 2005 with a degree in history. He graduated from Brunswick High School in 2001.

Just a month ago, that BHS class celebrated its 10th reunion and classmates have begun to post their remembrances of Haas on the same Facebook page where he shared news earlier this year about the reunion plans.

“David Haas is one of those people that came into my life that I will never forget,” wrote classmate David Fitzherbert Jr. (http://goo.gl/UIohb). “This is shocking and I am at a complete loss of words. Just want to give my condolences to the Haas family, he was a truly great person.”

A photo posted to that page shows Haas crouching among around 15 classmates during the reunion weekend in June that took place in part at Thomas Point Beach.

Another classmate from Haas’ time at the University of Richmond remembered him in a Facebook post on her page and corrected a press release stating Haas’ age as 30.

“I met U.S. Army Capt. David Haas on my very first day at the University of Richmond, and stayed friends since then,” wrote Marisa R. Donelan on Sunday (http://goo.gl/PTvfD). “He was hilariously funny, kind, faithful, passionate, smart, affectionate and loyal to his friends.”

Donelan stated that Haas was actually 29, not 30 as stated in a press release, though that could not be confirmed before press time.

“Our birthdays are about a week apart, in November,” Donelan wrote. “We spent his 19th birthday watching a meteor shower.”

In November 2009, while stationed in Iraq, Haas wrote a letter to The Times Record expressing his thanks for students in a third grade class at Jordan Acres School who made “Thanksgiving Baskets” for the soldiers of Bravo Company, 701st Brigade Support Battalion.

“It is times like this when I am thankful I am from Brunswick, Maine!” Haas wrote. “Community support is vital to soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors completing their mission successfully. Deployments are hard no matter where you are; knowing that the American people still support and think about us makes being so far away from family and friends easier … or at least bearable.”

Military ties

Haas’ family has strong military ties, with his brother, Marc, 38, having served in the National Guard and his father, Joseph, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War.

In 2004, his brother was wounded during a suicide bombing that killed 22 people at a base in Mosul.

On a MySpace profile last updated around two years ago, David Haas lamented his time stationed in Kansas and wrote that he had thoughts of returning to Maine.

“(Kansas) is kind of like Purgatory for a East-Coaster like me,” Haas wrote (http://goo.gl/SS1Sm). “Eventually gonna go back home and live in a cabin … or maybe not.”

¦ ARMY CAPT. David C. Haas, who served two tours in Iraq, was serving with the 403rd Field Support Brigade stationed in South Korea. He graduated from the University of Richmond in 2005 with a degree in history and from Brunswick High School in 2001.