Tooele American Legion post renamed to honor fallen Utah soldier


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TOOELE — American Legion Post 17 in Tooele was renamed to honor 19-year-old Utah soldier Jordan Matthew Byrd, who was killed in Afghanistan while helping a wounded soldier in 2010.

“Post 17, we decided we wanted to carry the name of Jordan Matthew Byrd,” said Gene Cottrell, American Legion post commander in Tooele, during the group’s meeting Thursday evening.

Byrd was a medic with the 101st Airborne Division from Grantsville and Dugway.

Just before he died, Byrd was home on leave. The Army gave him permission to stay home a few extra days because his wife had just given birth to their son, Ayden.

The family was able to get a few pictures of Jordan and Ayden together before he was redeployed to Afghanistan, where he was killed the next month.

Byrd’s family said it is nice to see his sacrifice is still being remembered.

“On behalf of Jordan and the family, it’s just a very humbling and honorable thing for us that they would think of him for this. So, thank you,” said Byrd’s uncle, Gene Hoopes.

It’s easy to say never forget, but the American Legion Post 17 in Tooele wanted to make sure they would never forget Byrd.

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Alex Cabrero
Alex Cabrero has been reporting for KSL-TV for nearly two decades. He has covered a variety of stories over the years from a variety of places, but he particularly enjoys sharing stories that show what's good in the world.

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