Aaron ButlerA Green Beret killed in Afghanistan Wednesday was a four-time state wrestling champ.
Utah National Guardsman Staff Sgt. Aaron R. Butler was supporting Operation Freedom's Sentinel when an explosive device detonated during combat operations in eastern Afghanistan, according to Pentagon officials. Butler, 27, was killed; eleven others were injured by the explosion as the soldiers were trying to clear a booby-trapped building.
Butler, who wrestled at Monticello High School, won four consecutive Utah state wrestling titles (103 pounds in 2005; 112 in 2006; 125 in 2007; and 135 in 2008), joining others who achieved this milestone, including Cael Sanderson, four-time NCAA champ for Iowa State who is now head coach at Penn State.
Butler still holds a number of records at Monticello, including 37 falls (2006 season), 152 career takedowns, and a 169-15 career record.
Very impressive stats, to be sure ... but even more so, considering Butler's rocky start in wrestling.
"His first match in high school he got pinned," his high school wrestling coach Kent Adair told the Fox affiliate in Salt Lake City. "And so, rather than be deterred at his goal, he worked hard and he fixed things he needed to fix and he was determined enough to do it."
"He wasn't a sit-in-the-back-row kind of guy," coach Adair said to KSL.com. "That's probably why he got killed -- because he was the first one through the door. That was his nature: I'll handle it for you, I'll take care of it. He was a leader. He wasn't a follower."
The Butler family issued the following statement about their son Aaron.
"The Army values are: 'Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless-Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage'. Aaron Butler personified those values in everything he said and did.
"In a life that was all too brief, our dear son and brother made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. While we are heartbroken to become a Gold Star family, we honor Aaron's service and sacrifice. Aaron was a strength to us, an inspiration to those around him, and a joy to have in our family."
In the statement, the Butler family wrote that Aaron graduated from Monticello High School in 2008, then served an LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) mission in Ghana. In January 2016, Butler graduated with honors from the Army Green Beret Special Forces Qualifications Course.
The Butler family said Aaron's body is being flown back to the United States as of this writing. Funeral plans are pending, but are tentatively planned for Saturday, Aug. 26.
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