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OREM -- The body of a fallen Orem soldier returned home Sunday morning. The solemn ceremony paid tribute to Chief Warrant Officer Matthew G. Wagstaff, who died in Afghanistan Sept. 21.
Family, friends and fellow soldiers honored the Blackhawk pilot for his courageous service. Wagstaff's family requested that everyone smile at least once today for Matt, because that's what he would have wanted.
The charter jet carrying Wagstaff arrived right on time, but it was too soon for family.
"Suzanne, Matt's mom, said to me, ‘I'm not sure I'm ready for this,'" recalled family friend Kelvin Brock. "I said, ‘You should never be ready for this. No one should.'"
Wagstaff died while serving as a member of the Army's 101st Airborne Division. He was on his third combat tour overseas and in his 10th year in the Army.
The U.S. Army says the helicopter pilot was among nine NATO troops, including five Americans, killed in a helicopter crashed in a rugged section of southern Afghanistan.
"Matt did not love war. Matt was a lover of... He loved his family, his friends. He loved the freedoms we have and he loved his country," Brock said.
Wagstaff joined the Army after he graduated from Utah State University. Family says the military made his dream of flying come true.
"From his kindergarten years, from his early childhood, that's what he wanted to do, and the Army allowed him to do that," Brock said.
As Wagstaff's casket descended from the plane, his family looked on in tears. His wife and mother were the first to walk onto the tarmac to meet their loved one.
The rest of the family and friends followed in their "Lancer" T-shirts -- a tribute to the 101st Airborne Division.
They say Wagstaff died doing what he loved.
"He was happy. He smiled and the room just lit up," said family friend Tamra Kearl. "He was the type of person that if you needed something, he was there for you. And he was just a genuinely lovely person."
Wagstaff's funeral will be held on Tuesday in West Jordan. He'll be buried with full military honors at Utah Veterans Memorial Park at Camp Williams.
E-mail: ngonzales@ksl.com
