Maj. Stephen Mark Badger dreamed of climbing every mountain in the world - and skiing those he didn't climb.
Sniper fire cut short those dreams early Friday morning as the Salt Lake native and 1,300 other Army paratroopers at Fort Bragg, N.C., were preparing to set out on a four-mile run.Badger, 38, was killed and 18 other soldiers were wounded. A fellow Fort Bragg soldier was arrested.
"He was my best friend, my love," said Diane Badger, his wife. "It's going to take a lot of faith to get through this. But I know the Lord had a reason to take him home early."
Badger was born in Salt Lake City, where his mother, Maurine Badger, still lives.
He attended Brigham Young University and served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before joining the Army, where he was "just over the halfway mark" in what was supposed to be a 20-year career, his widow said.
He was an intelligence officer who had been with the elite 82nd Airborne Division since December 1994, according to a spokes-man at Fort Bragg. The 82nd Airborne is one of the military's most storied fighting forces, having participated in D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge.
When the Badgers married 21/2 years ago, they blended two families into the "Badger Bunch" - eight children ranging in age from 8 to 21. They settled in Fayetteville, N.C., where his family remains.
Diane Badger said she was well aware of the dangers soldiers face. Her 19-year-old son was killed in a training exercise at Camp Pendleton in California shortly after he returned from duty in Desert Storm.
Badger was a strong, quick-witted man who loved to read, climb mountains, rappel and play the guitar, Diane Badger said, adding that their children are having a difficult time understanding what happened.
Details from Fort Bragg were sketchy. Soldiers in sweatpants and shirts scattered for cover when the shooting started in the darkness at 6:30 a.m. Friday. All but one of the victims were from the 82nd Airborne Division.
Army investigators were questioning the suspect, Sgt. William J. Kreutzer, 26, of Company A, 4th Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment. His hometown was listed as Washington, D.C.
Kreutzer had not been charged by Friday evening, said 18th Airborne Corps spokeswoman Sgt. 1st Class Kiki Bryant.
In Salt Lake City, Badger's mother, Maureen Badger, was "having a tough time" after learning the news, family friend Jerry Gallacher told KSL-TV.
"There was a fellow from the military who was waiting for her. She said `It can't be my son,' " Gallacher said. "I think she's noticeably in a state of shock."
Gallacher said that Stephen Badger has not lived at home for 20 years, but friends in the neighborhood have fond memories of him. "He was just a typical kid and a super guy," Gallacher said.
KSL reported that Badger had recently been promoted to major.
The shooting took place on the field at Towle Stadium, where members of the elite fighting division do their morning calisthenics. The soldiers were standing in ranks in the lighted stadium, about to leave for a run in the dark and fog.
The woods are on a rise overlooking the stadium, a bowl-shaped, fenced-in field with a few concrete bleachers.
"We were in formation down there. We were getting ready to leave. I heard shots and thought it was fireworks. Everybody took off," said Pvt. Ezra Johnson, 19, Frazer, Mont. "I heard a lot of shots. It sounded like a semi-automatic."
Army investigators found three weapons: a 9 mm pistol, a .22-caliber rifle and an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, which is a civilian version of the M-16.
The gunman had parked on a wide path in the woods that abut the field on one side, then took up a position near the car and fired through the trees, said Capt. Marc Wiggins, spokesman for the 82nd.
Army investigators fanned out in the pine woods and quickly found what appeared from a distance to be a rifle.
They also picked up and placed in evidence bags a knife, a web belt with a canteen and pouches on it and a piece of camouflage clothing. Yellow markers were placed on the ground to show where evidence was found.
Badger was dead on arrival at Womack Army Hospital. Of the 18 wounded, one was treated and released. Some of the others were in critical condition; others suffered minor wounds.
The Army withheld the wounded victims' names while their relatives were notified.
Fort Bragg is an open post, which means people can come and go as they please.