Monticello • The body of Aaron Butler — a 27-year-old Utah Special Forces soldier from Monticello — arrived home on Thursday.
On Aug. 16, Butler — a staff sergeant in Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group of the Utah National Guard — died in an explosion in a booby-trapped building in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, which injured 11 other soldiers.
A funeral is scheduled for Saturday.
In honor of Butler, Gov. Gary R. Herbert has ordered the lowering of the flag of the United States of America and the flag of the State of Utah at all state facilities and public grounds from sunrise until sunset on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Aaron Butler’s parents and his fiancee,Alexandria Seagroves, recalled a man who was driven and fearless inevery facet of his life. He moved at “900 mph,” his father said. Whilehe could be intense, his heart was tender, Seagroves added.
At Monticello High School, Aaron Butler was a four-time state wrestlingchamp who never showed fear or nerves before big matches, his father,Randy Butler said. He joined the Utah National Guard before graduation.
The Tribune will be updating this story.