Family sits down to discuss fallen soldier Aaron Butler

“I don't know if he understood fear like the rest of us,” are the words Randy Butler used to describe his son, Aaron.
Aaron Butler will be laid to rest on Saturday, August 26. The special forces Green Beret was killed in action in Afghanistan in August on August 16.
On August 23, the Butler family sat down with the media to discuss their son.
Randy Butler described his son as being full of passion. “This young man came to us with an abundance – I would say a super abundance – of passion. He has passion from head to toe.
"Everything Aaron did, he did with passion. He had a natural passion to be a defender.”
Laura added, “Aaron had a warrior's heart, and he still has a warrior's heart but it is on a different battlefield with a higher purpose.”
Aaron Butler grew up in Monticello in a large family with six brothers and a sister. He was well known for his enthusiasm, dedication and fearlessness.
He was one of a handful of wrestlers to claim a state championship in all four years of high school.
He also served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Ghana.
Aaron Butler's fiancé, Alexandria Seagroves, also discussed her feelings.
Seagroves and Aaron met in North Carolina while he was completing special forces training. She is from a military family and said she was surprised when Aaron, who she thought was clearly from the military, initially told her he was in training to be an insurance agent.
Seagroves adds that by the second day the teasing had stopped and they had shared their life stories.
“Some people say Aaron was rough around the edges, but I never saw that,” said Seagroves. “He was always so caring. He had a huge heart and that made it so easy for me to move out here to Utah.”
Seagroves described how Butler proposed to her from Afghanistan. “We were talking about something extremely random and I was looking away. He said, ‘Alex, I want you to look at me real quick.’
“I turned, we were Facetiming, and he was down on one knee. I laughed and said 'Of course,' and told him he had to do it right. He said he had already called my dad.”
Discussing his sacrifice, Seagroves said “I am so proud of him and his brothers in Afghanistan.”
Laura Butler said they were incredibly excited to go to North Carolina when Aaron received his green beret at the end of special forces training, but added, “I was even more excited to see and meet the woman who turned Aaron’s head.”
When asked if the family feared that Aaron would be injured or killed, Laura Butler said, “You can't help but think about it.”
“We found out that each one of the family tried to talk him out of it, but this is what he was born to do. I believed it with all my heart and soul and he believed it more than me.
"Aaron lives on the edge, he always did and I knew he always would. But he walked that line to protect us and make sure we didn't go over the edge.”
Butler's body is scheduled to arrive in Monticello tomorrow, August 24, which is also his 28th birthday.
Laura Butler said, “He is coming home on his birthday. I cannot think of a more fitting thing to happen for Aaron at this time. Someone said, ‘Aaron must have pulled some strings.’ Nah, Aaron doesn't pull strings, he knocks heads.”
When asked what they would say if they had two more minutes with their son, Randy Butler said, “I would tell him ‘I love you dearly.’ I wish I would have said it more.”
Laura Butler said she would tell Aaron that "we were okay."
Laura describes her last interaction with Aaron, who traveled with his special forces team through Monticello on the way to deployment in Texas.
“Aaron said he probably wouldn't stop but I promised him I would bake cookies if he did. When the team arrived they were so happy that I had baked the cookies.”
Butler adds, “In a very brief interaction, you could feel the caliber of the young men in his team.”
Randy Butler said that we live in a greatly blessed country and talked to parents whose children have expressed an interest in the military.
“Help your kids search out if they have an interest in military service,” said Randy. “Only one of our eight children served in the military, but this one jumped in head and shoulders all the way.
“It really helps to know that no matter what, this is what he wanted.”
When asked how the family would move forward, the parents said, “Aaron would say, ‘You need to live your lives just like you been doing. You don't want to live a sad life.”
“Aaron would say to go after your pursuits with even greater passion,” said Randy Butler.