LA SALLE, Colo.—A solider killed when a bomb went off near his vehicle in Iraq was a former wrestler in high school and planned to work as a firefighter when he returned home from the war.
Staff Sgt. Justin L. Bauer, 24, of Loveland had interned at the Berthoud Fire Protection District, where his dad worked as a firefighter, earning a citation in 2003 for rescuing a woman from a car and using CPR to resucitate her.
“I couldn’t be a more fortunate father,” Greg Bauer told the Greeley Tribune on Monday from his home in La Salle. “He was such a good son and a good mentor to his two younger brothers.”
The Department of Defense on Monday said Bauer died Saturday in Baghdad.
Bauer was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.
During his military service, Bauer earned the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Army Commendation Medal. Bauer began his internship with the fire district in 2002 after graduating from Berthoud High School, earning commendations in 2002 for helping evacuate a neighborhood during a police standoff and in 2003 for his and another firefighters’ rescue efforts of the trapped woman.
“This kid was full of life,” Fire Chief Steve Charles told the Rocky Mountain News. “You can’t describe Justin with one word. He was fun to be around. When it was time to have fun, he had fun; when it was time to get down to work, he worked. To me, he was a man of compassion.”
Charles said Bauer told him he would return to be a firefighter.
Scott Pickert, Bauer’s former wrestling coach, remembered the many times he saw Bauer and his younger brothers, Jeremy and Jacob, at the fire station with their dad.
Three months ago, Bauer had recently married his high school sweetheart, now Kari Bauer.
“He was a model husband, loving and compassionate, and a son who never gave his family any problems when he was growing up,” Fort Bragg, N.C.-based Kari Bauer said in a statement.
