Joshua R. Hager dies of injuries from I.E.D.

A wife and son in Pueblo and a mother in Broomfield are mourning the loss of Staff Sgt. Joshua Hager, who they said had found a perfect role as a military leader and devoted family man.

Hager, 29, died in Iraq on Friday of injuries he suffered a day earlier when an explosive device detonated near a vehicle he was in, military officials said.

"He was a born leader and a great husband," said Heather Hager, Joshua's wife of seven years.

Hager said her husband had found a focus and source of pride when he enlisted in the military nine years ago and immediately met with success, becoming an Army Ranger and reaching the rank of staff sergeant.

"From the second he joined, he was promoted so fast," she said. "He was amazing. He was just such a good soldier."

Hager said a member of her husband's platoon called her Friday night to "make sure I knew he was a hero, and that his soldiers had all lost a piece of themselves."

Pfc. Travis W. Buford, 23, of Galveston, Texas, and Pfc. Rowan D. Walter, 25, of Winnetka, Calif., also died Friday from injuries suffered in the explosion, military officials said.

All were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Fort Carson.

Hager's charisma and contagious sense of humor always attracted people in his direction, said his mother, Lois Knight.

"He would always put everyone around him at ease," she said. "He had the natural ability to warm people up to him."

The Hagers had closed on a house in Pueblo the day he was deployed to Iraq in October. They planned to settle down with their 9-year-old son, Bayley, three horses and two dogs.

Heather Hager said her husband took Bayley everywhere with him.

That meant hours of fishing, biking or any other outdoor activity the weather permitted.

"He was magnetic," Hager said of her husband, "always up for anything."

Joshua Hager first developed a love for Colorado's outdoors taking trips into the mountains with his mother, who raised him on her own in Broomfield.

She said his easy-going nature was perfect for the hit-or- miss days spent beside a plodding river.

"He didn't care if he only caught a minnow," she said. "He was always out there, enjoying being alive."

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