Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 Stephen Mark Badger (December 13, 1957 – October 27, 1995) was an United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 officer

Officer (armed forces)

An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

 assigned to the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne in Fort Bragg

Fort Bragg (North Carolina)

Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. He was killed by William Kreutzer, Jr.

William Kreutzer, Jr.

William J. Kreutzer, Jr. is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted of killing one officer and wounding 18 other soldiers when he opened fire on a physical training formation on October 27, 1995 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina....

 while he and his unit were preparing for the Division Ready Brigade (DRB) assumption run on October 27, 1995.

Biography

Badger was born in Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 on December 13, 1957. He joined the JROTC program at Highland High School and later served in the National Guard. He continued in the ROTC program at Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

, graduating as a 2nd Lt. in 1985. He was a 10-year veteran of the United States Army.

Marriage and children

Badger's first marriage, to Nancy Peck, ended in divorce. He was married a second time to Diane Wallace Badger in 1993. The couple had a total of eight children between them.

Death and afterward

At the time of his death, he held the rank of major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Army

Army

An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...

. He is buried in Holden

Holden

GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...

, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

.

Sergeant

Sergeant

Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....

 William Kreutzer, Jr.

William Kreutzer, Jr.

William J. Kreutzer, Jr. is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted of killing one officer and wounding 18 other soldiers when he opened fire on a physical training formation on October 27, 1995 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina....

 was quickly apprehended and determined to have been the sniper. Kreutzer was found guilty by a military court and sentenced to death. His death sentence was commuted to life by the Military Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals

A court of appeals is an appellate court generally.Court of Appeals may refer to:*Military Court of Appeals *Corte d'Assise d'Appello *Philippine Court of Appeals*High Court of Appeals of Turkey*United States courts of appeals...

. He was retried in 2009 and sentenced to life imprisonment.