The Coloradoan -- A Loveland soldier was killed Saturday in Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, the Department of Defense announced today.

Staff Sgt. Justin L. Bauer, 24, of Loveland died in Baghdad of wounds sustained when the IED detonated near his vehicle.

He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C. 

Thompson School District spokesman Wes Fothergill confirmed Bauer was a 2002 graduate of Bethoud High School.

Bauer leaves behind a wife, his parents and two brothers.

The complete release from the 82nd Airborne Division is below:


82nd Airborne Division Paratrooper dies in Iraq



==Another news story==

Photo: Sitting in the living room of her Loveland home Monday, Candy Rushold, mother-in-law of Justin Bauer, holds photos taken at her daughter Kari and Justin’s wedding last September. Justin Bauer was killed over the weekend while serving in Iraq.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — An 82nd Airborne Division Paratrooper died from injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his patrol in Baghdad, Iraq Saturday. 



Staff Sgt. Justin Bauer, 24, of Loveland, Co., was a section sergeant with 2nd Bn., 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 3rd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 82nd Abn. Div.



"Staff Sgt. Bauer was an exceptional leader, twice tested in combat deployments with the battalion over the last two years,” said Lt. Col, Louis Zeisman, commander, 2nd Bn., 505th PIR. 

Bauer joined the Army in October 2004. He completed Infantry One Station Unit Training and the Basic Airborne Course in March 2005 at Fort Benning, Ga.



He reported to the 82nd Abn. Div. in August 2005 and was assigned to 2nd Bn., 505th PIR as an assistant gunner.



“While this loss will be long and deeply felt by all of us, his legacy will remain; measured by the high caliber of the Soldiers he led and the tremendous respect he had earned from his peers and superiors alike," added Zeisman.

Bauer’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Parachutist Badge, and the Driver and Mechanic Badge.

Bauer is survived by his wife, Kari Bauer, of Berthoud, Co., his father, Gregory Bauer, of LaSalle, Co., and his mother, Connie Haddock, of Loveland, Co.



The unit will hold a memorial service in Iraq Friday.

==Another news story==

Photo: Devin Olsen, close friend of fallen soldier Justin Bauer, takes a moment to reflect as he looks over photos of Bauer on Wednesday evening at his Fort Collins home. Olsen is putting together a slide show about Bauer for friends and family.Devin Olsen, close friend of fallen soldier Justin Bauer, takes a moment to reflect as he looks over photos of Bauer on Wednesday evening at his Fort Collins home. Olsen is putting together a slide show about Bauer for friends and family.

The Reporter-Herald -- Justin Bauer had a simple motto: Live like there’s no tomorrow, ’cause tomorrow might not come.

And those who loved him know it’s a lifestyle the athlete, firefighter, soldier and friend followed until the very end.

“Everything he did was 100 percent,” said one of Justin’s best friends, Fort Collins’ Devin Olsen.

“He wanted to be the biggest and best at everything. And he was the best.”

On Saturday, Justin, a 24-year-old Army paratrooper, was killed while serving in Iraq.

It’s the last thing his buddies expected to happen to their larger-than-life friend.

“You always hear about it on the news, but you never think it’s going to happen to you,” said Berthoud’s Blake Felton.

“Especially to a guy like Justin,” Devin added.

Yet while they mourn his loss, his friends find comfort knowing Justin died following his dreams.

“Whether it was going into a burning building or doing what he did, ...” Blake said, pausing.

“Either way, he was going to be a hero,” Devin finished.

Both Devin and Blake knew Justin well before he ever set foot in the Middle East, jumped out of a plane or even talked about joining the military.

They all grew up in Berthoud, and Blake and Justin became friends in second grade.

Devin and Justin met in middle school — although their acquaintance didn’t become a friendship right away.

“We didn’t start off as friends,” Devin said bluntly.

Always a competitor and never one to back down, Justin often came off as arrogant or cocky, Devin explained.

“But once you know him, you know he has every right to be cocky — because he says he’s going to do something, and he does it.”

Soon the two became friends, and Devin realized that Justin’s drive to be the best at everything applied to how he cared for his friends, too.

“The way he treats his friends and family, you can’t not like the guy,” he said.

“He’s younger than I am, and I always looked up to him.”

After their graduation from Berthoud High School, the three friends continued to stay close.

During the day, they worked at a feed store together.

And their weekends were spent boating on Carter Lake and listening to Justin’s favorite singer, Kenny Chesney.

“He loved boating, and he loved Carter Lake,” Blake said.

When he was about 19, Justin joined the Berthoud Fire Department, following in the footsteps of his father, Greg Bauer.

But Justin’s ambition to keep moving forward didn’t stop there.

Soon after joining the department, Justin took a job as a firefighter well out of his comfort zone — all the way down in Antarctica.

He was gone for almost a year — and when he returned, Justin was just as eager to keep living life to the fullest.

And the Army was next on the list.

Devin remembers when Justin announced his plans to join the military.

“I said, ‘Why? You know you’re going into a war,’” Devin said.

However, he knew there was no chance he’d change his friend’s mind.

“Justin’s the kind of guy that when something gets in his mind, he’s going to do it no matter what,” Devin said. “And he wanted to fight.”

During his first deployment to Iraq, Justin’s friends often gathered with the Bauer family to talk, pray and simply cope.

It was a hard time, they said — not only was Justin in Iraq, but his younger brother, Jeremy, also was serving in the Middle East.

“It was rough,” Blake said.

But unexpected phone calls from the soldier helped put his friends at ease.

“Talking to him made you feel a lot better about the situation,” Devin said. “He never for a second made you feel like he’s scared.”

After about 16 months overseas, Justin made it home safely.

And the soldier spoke well of the experience.

“He loved it,” Blake said. “He didn’t once regret signing the line to go.”

Over the next year, while he was stateside, Justin and his fiancee and high school sweetheart, Berthoud’s Kari Campbell, lived near Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

However, they came home for just over a week in September for the couple’s Colorado wedding.

It was the last time either friend would see Justin.

Blake remembers one of their last conversations together. During the wedding reception, he and Justin were discussing the upcoming tour the soldier would depart on in just a few months.

“He told me the tour will be cake. There is nothing to worry about — it’ll be easy,” Blake said.

“It was definitely not easy.”

Just over a month after Justin was deployed, Blake and Devin got a phone call from Kari.

“She was hysterical,” Devin remembered. “Finally, she told me Justin had died that day.

“He was gone.”

Since hearing of Justin’s death, the friends have been trying to cope as best they can.

On Sunday, Blake, Devin, Justin’s two brothers and other friends sat around a bonfire at Carter Lake, the place Justin loved so much, to remember the man who would do anything for them.

“He’d stand in front of any one of his buddies to defend them,” Blake said.

“That’s why he died. He was doing it for us.”

And with word of Justin’s death spreading through the community and country, the friends have been overwhelmed with calls from those who knew him.

“He touched a lot of people and made a lot of people who they are,” Blake said. “And he’s going to continue to do it.”

Justin’s best friends hope his life will serve as a message for everyone to live by.

“The most important thing to take from Justin’s life is don’t ever let anyone tell you you can’t,” Devin said.

“Live every moment like it’s your last. He did that his entire life.”

==Another news story==

Loveland Connection -- Staff Sgt. Justin L. Bauer was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.

He was on his second tour of duty in Baghdad, Iraq when he was killed in action on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009 at the age of 24.

Our husband, son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend, Justin was a true hero.

Born on August 22, 1984, in Ventura, CA, Justin is lovingly remembered by the many people he has touched in his young life.

He graduated from Berthoud High School in 2002, where he excelled as a student athlete on the football and wrestling teams, known for his strong work ethic and leadership. He earned varsity positions in both sports, placed fourth in his weight class at the regional wrestling tournament his senior year, and was captain of the football team. Family, friends, sports, boats, and outings to Carter Lake were among the things Justin enjoyed most.

After graduating from high school in 2002, Justin followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Berthoud Fire Department.

In the short time at Berthoud Fire, he received two letters of commendation and one meritorious service award.

In 2003, he took a firefighting position in Antarctica for a scientific research company.

Justin enlisted in the Army in 2004. He attended paratrooper jump school at Fort Benning, GA, and then served his first sixteen month tour in Iraq from 2005 to 2006.

His dedication and hard work earned him assignment to the 82nd Airborne Division – the same division in which his grandfather, Jacob (Jack) Bauer had served so many years before as a paratrooper during the Korean War.

On September 27, 2008, Justin married his high school sweetheart, Kari Campbell, at a beautiful ceremony on a perfect autumn day in Georgetown, Colorado surrounded by family and friends.

Two months later, he left for his second tour in Iraq. He was scheduled to come home to Colorado in December 2009, where he planned to return to the fire department, and start a family with his new wife.

Justin was decorated with several medals including the Bronze Star medal, the Purple Heart and the Humanitarian Service medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Army Commendation Medal.

Justin left a lasting impression on those that met him. He was an engaging young man with a contagious smile who was determined to make a difference.

He inspired those around him by embodying the leadership qualities he believed in, and had a great love of family, friends and community. Justin was a true hero and an example to us all.

The outpouring of sorrow and remembrances of Justin from all across the country tells us we are not alone in knowing what a difference he made in so many ways to so many people. It is this legacy of honor, integrity, and courage that will be carried on by those who knew him.

His death is a devastating loss to those closest to him. Justin leaves his wife, Kari Bauer, of Berthoud; mother Connie Haddock, of Loveland; father, Greg Bauer, of La Salle; younger brothers Jeremy and Jacob Bauer; younger sister Jessica Hartman; grandparents, Jack and Gloria Bauer, of Eaton, Mary Rudquist of Minnesota, and La Vonne & Louis Varn of Johnstown. Justin is also mourned by several aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, former coaches and teachers, and fellow soldiers.

==Another news story==

The Reporter-Herald -- A former Berthoud football player and wrestler, a man who married his high school sweetheart three months ago, was killed Saturday serving in Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Justin Bauer, an Army paratrooper, died of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, Army officials said.

The 24-year-old was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq.

“He was the greatest young man I have ever known. Period. Just the greatest,” said his father, former Berthoud firefighter Greg Bauer, now of La Salle.

“He stood fast, he stood proud, professional — he was always unselfish.”

Described as a man’s man, Justin was outgoing and patriotic, and loved boats, sports and his family.

At Berthoud High School, he played (and played well) on the football and wrestling teams, earning a varsity position on both, and placing fourth in his weight class at the regional wrestling tournament his senior year.

During his time at school, Justin met his future wife, Kari Campbell.

The couple dated on and off for a few years, “but boy, when she settled on him, it was game over for anyone else,” said Kari Bauer’s mother’s partner, Dave Ritchie of Loveland.

After graduating from high school in 2002, Justin followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Berthoud Fire Department.

However, following another pair of footsteps brought Justin to the Army — he decided to join after his younger brother, Jeremy, enlisted.

Justin soon became a paratrooper — a job that made even his father a little nervous.

“When I went down and saw him at jumping school, it scared the hell out of me,” he said with a laugh. “But Justin loved to jump.”

Kari’s mom, Candy Rushold, saw that determination in her son-in-law, and it earned him a place in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.

“He was heart and soul,” she said. “He worked so hard at being the best he could be in the Army.”

A few years ago, Justin was deployed for the first time to Iraq, where he served for 16 months, his father said.

Kari was diligent in staying in contact with him — sending care packages, e-mailing and calling Justin nearly every day.

It was a bond that was meant to be, Candy said — and when Justin returned home, the two high school sweethearts finally said “I do.”

Kari moved to Fort Bragg with Justin and planned their entire Colorado wedding from 2,000 miles away.

But the Sept. 27 wedding in Georgetown went just as they’d hoped, Candy said.

“I see his face, him looking at her, with so much love in his eyes. They were so happy,” she said.

“She was his queen, his soul mate.”

About two months after they married, nearly a year after he returned stateside, Justin was deployed back to Iraq just after Thanksgiving.

Kari began the same routines as last time, e-mailing and calling — and this time, counting down the days until May when he would be home again once and for all.

With only a few months to go until Justin finished serving in the Army, the couple were planning to move back to Northern Colorado. Justin would get a job as a firefighter, and together they would start a family, Candy said.

But while she waited, Kari continued to live near Fort Bragg with another soldier’s wife, who is six months pregnant, Candy added.

However, Kari’s plans were unexpectedly changed just a few days ago.

It was late Saturday night when Kari’s roommate saw two soldiers parked outside of their house.

Army families know that is the sign that something has gone horribly wrong.

Candy got the call from her daughter about an hour later.

“She was just crying,” Candy said with tears. “She said ‘Mom, he’s gone. Justin’s gone.’”

Since getting word of his death, those close to Justin are coping how they can and holding on to the memory of the soldier, brother, son and husband.

“I don’t know how to express it,” Greg said. “As a father, I can’t imagine having a better son. ...

“He was just a very outgoing, beautiful young man.”

Justin’s mother, Loveland’s Connie Haddock, was home Monday but unavailable for comment.

And Kari, who is still in North Carolina, is scheduled to fly back to Loveland on Friday, along with her husband’s body, Candy said.

“She’s strong, but it’s really hard,” the 22-year-old’s mother said.

Yet even while they mourn, Justin’s loved ones know he died a hero.

“I want Colorado to know my boy didn’t lose his life for nothing,” Greg said. “He was trying to make a difference.”

Dave Ritchie agreed.

“He believed in what he was doing,” he said. “For us, hero is spelled J-U-S-T-I-N.”

==Another news story==

Longmont TimeCall -- Just three months ago, they met to celebrate his marriage, his life and his future.

Friday afternoon, the people closest to Justin Bauer gathered once again — yet this time to mourn a future that will never come.

Justin, a 24-year-old Army paratrooper from Berthoud, was killed last Saturday while serving in Iraq.

On Friday, the soldier’s body was flown to Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport, and later that afternoon, friends and family members attended an open-casket visitation as they prepared to say goodbye.

“He’s home,” said his mother, Loveland’s Connie Haddock. “But it’s just not the way I planned it.”

The airport was ready for Justin more than an hour before the plane arrived.

Three firetrucks parked on the tarmac, and a dozen firefighters formed a steady line in front of them. Both the soldier and his father, Greg Bauer, had served with the Berthoud Fire Department — and it was only right that they were there to welcome Justin home, Greg had said.

Near the firetrucks, about 30 of Justin’s friends and family members gathered and waited.

And Army Honor Guard soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division, Justin’s division, paced and chatted nervously outside the terminal.

About 15 minutes before the scheduled landing, two limousines added to the mix.

Slowly, Justin’s closest family members, including his parents and two younger brothers, emerged from the vehicles. Immediately, they joined the crowd, tilting their heads toward the sky, watching for any sign of the plane — any sign of Justin.

They didn’t have to wait long.

About 12:30, someone got word that the plane was about to arrive. Minutes later, the white charter jet buzzed down the runway.

As its engines hummed to a stop, the fire engines, firefighters, Honor Guard soldiers and loved ones gathered around the plane.

Justin’s brothers, parents and their spouses stood the closest, making a long chain all connected through locked arms or hugs.

Quietly, they watched as the plane’s small door opened.

With the help of her assigned casualty assistance officer, Capt. Craig Arnold, Justin’s wife stepped out of the plane into the Colorado sunshine.

Kari Bauer looked composed and dignified, wearing a black coat, scarf, pants and sunglasses.

Once on the ground, she stood near the plane’s open door. Wrapping one arm around Arnold, Kari looked out at the crowds that welcomed her.

The last time the Berthoud native was in Colorado, she became a newlywed.

On Friday, she returned as a widow.

Yet like the strong young woman she’s always described as being, Kari stood tall and steady as she joined in the silence that was shared all around.

For minutes, nothing more than distant traffic could be heard.

But all that was broken when the American flag-draped casket appeared.

Cries of sorrow erupted from every direction.

As the casket was slowly lowered to the ground, the waiting Honor Guard soldiers gave a sturdy salute. Then they took the casket in hand and marched toward a waiting hearse.

All eyes followed Justin across the runway. Kari placed her right hand over her heart.

Even once the casket was set in the hearse, it took time for anyone to move.

Justin’s dad was the first one to approach it.

In a moment filled with both longing and resistance, his head and arm flung onto the casket, the father let out deep, painful sobs.

Next, Connie greeted her son by resting a hand on the flag, and Justin’s brothers soon followed.

The immediate family all paid their respects to Justin. But each one, after a moment of honor, quickly turned around and shifted their focus to Justin’s 22-year-old wife, who stood quietly behind them.

And it was in her father-in-law’s embrace that Kari finally let herself go.

Living in North Carolina, this was the first time she’d seen any of Justin’s family since the wedding.

Now she’s home, and together they’ll bury the son, husband and brother on Tuesday.