LONGMONT — Funeral services were held this morning for Justin Bauer, a 24-year-old soldier from Berthoud killed in Iraq earlier this month.
The large sanctuary of LifeBridge Christian Church was more than two-thirds full as an estimated 1,500 people came to pay their respects.
Bauer was an Army staff sergeant with the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, N.C.
He was killed when a roadside bomb went off next to his vehicle in Baghdad.
He graduated in 2002 from Berthoud High School, where he was an avid football player and also wrestled.
Shortly after graduating, he joined the Berthoud Fire Protection District.
Bauer’s high school football uniform, his Berthoud fire gear and his Army uniform were at the front of the sanctuary.
More than 100 motorcyclists carrying U.S. flags were outside the church as mourners headed to their cars to join the funeral procession to Greenlawn Cemetery in Berthoud.
Services at the cemetery finished up just before 1 p.m.
Bauer is survived by his wife, Kari; his father, Gregory Bauer of LaSalle; his mother, Connie Haddock of Loveland; and two younger brothers.
