Utah soldier Jordan Byrd is killed helping another in Afghanistan

GRANTSVILLE — With her 5-week-old son tightly clasped in her arms, Savanna Byrd held up a photo of the boy's father holding his newborn son and grinning with delight.

The young mother was grateful for a few now-cherished photos of her husband, Jordan Byrd, and his son — because they're now the only ones she'll ever have.

Occasionally bursting into tears, Savanna Byrd talked about her husband, an Army medic with the 101st Airborne, who was killed in the Paktika province in Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Army Pfc. Jordan Byrd, stationed in Fort Campbell, Ky., was killed while working near the Pakistan border. Byrd's uncle, Jon Byrd, says he died during a gunfight trying to help a wounded soldier.

Surrounded by 15-20 friends and family members, Savannah Byrd explained how her last memory of her husband was when her son Ayden was born.

Jordan Byrd, 19, was scheduled to leave before she gave birth to the couple's first child, but the Army gave him permission to deploy late so he could be there for Ayden's birth.

"I don't know what I would've done if he wasn't there," Savannah Byrd said. "He was there every second, by my side the whole time. … It was great to have him there, to see him, hold him, and be there with him."

Family members said Jordan, a Dugway High graduate, wanted to become a doctor because he loved helping people.

"He surprised us all by coming home and saying he joined the Army, and he just figured it was a better way to get his education," Jordan's aunt, Jodi Steinfeldt, said.

The fallen soldier's parents flew to Delaware Thursday morning. The rest of the family and many of Jordan's close friends were outside the family's home in Grantsville Thursday night.

Jordan's sister, Abby Byrd, says she will always remember the time he came home from military training and surprised her at her school locker.

"He was in his dress uniform, his hat and everything," she said. "I was just so happy to see him. He was my best friend."

More than 100 friends and family held candles outside a coffee shop in Tooele Thursday night — many with tears in their eyes as they struggled with the knowledge they would never see Jordan again.

Family members have been given few details as to what happened leading up to Jordan's death but were told he was killed while trying to help a fellow soldier.