Victims wanted to serve their country

TEMPLE, Texas (KXAN/AP) - The 13 people killed at Fort Hood included a man who quit a furniture company job to join the military, a newlywed who had served in Iraq and a woman who vowed to take on Osama bin Laden.

As dozens of Fort Hood gunshot victims still lay in critical condition, spread out among four Central Texas hospitals, blood donors wait hours to help and survivors  mourn the loss of their friends and loved ones.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, portraits are beginning to emerge of some of the dead soldiers - killed when suspected gunman Major Nidal Malik Hasan "jumped up on a desk and started shooting weapons" at his fellow soldiers around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Of the injured, ten went to Scott and White Hospital in Temple. Of those ten, six were still in the Intensive Care Unit as of Friday morning, said W. Roy Smythe, Chairman of Surgery at the Hospital.

"Several of the patients are absolutely not out of the woods yet," said Smythe in a morning briefing.

Smythe said patients suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head, neck, chest, abdomen and other extremities.

He also said he talked to one of the young victims about the shooter.

"[The patient said] the individual jumped up on the desk and started shooting weapons."

A source inside the hospital said FBI agents were in the ICU interviewing victims Friday morning.

Patients initially went to Darnall Army Medical Center on post at Fort Hood.

Ten injured went to Scott and White in Temple. Seven patients went to the Metroplex Adventist Hospital in Killeen. Two victims went by helicopter to Seton Medical Center Williamson in Round Rock. One patient left the hospital Friday morning, the other still remains in serious condition there.

The 13 people killed when an Army psychiatrist allegedly opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, included a man who quit a furniture company job to join the military about a year ago, a newlywed who had served in Iraq and a woman who had vowed to take on Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Pfc. Michael Pearson

The 21-year-old soldier from the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, Ill., quit what he figured was a dead-end furniture company job to join the military about a year ago.

His mother, Sheryll Pearson, tells the Chicago Tribune that her son "felt he was in a rut. He wanted to travel, see the world. He also wanted an opportunity to serve the country."

At Pearson's family home today, a yellow ribbon was tied to a porch light and a sticker stamped with American flags on the front door read, "United we stand."

Neighbor Jessica Koerber was with Pearson's parents when they received word Thursday their son had died. She described him as a man who clearly loved his family -- someone who enjoyed horsing around with his nieces and nephews, and other times playing his guitar.

In Koerber's words, "That family lost their gem. He was a great kid, a great guy. ... Mikey was one of a kind."

Sheryll Pearson said she hadn't seen her son for a year because he had been training. She told the Tribune that when she last talked to him on the phone two days ago, they had discussed how he would come home for Christmas.

Spc. Jason Dean Hunt

The 22-year-old soldier from Frederick, Okla., went into the military after graduating from Tipton High School in 2005. His mother, Gale Hunt says he'd gotten married just two months ago. He served 3 1/2 years in the Army, including a stint in Iraq.

Gale Hunt says two uniformed soldiers came to her door late last night to notify her of her son's death.

Kathy Gray is an administrative assistant at the Tipton Schools. She says the soldier was known as J.D. and was "just kind of a quiet boy and a good kid, very kind."

Hunt's mother said he was family oriented. In her words, "He didn't go in for hunting or sports. He was a very quiet boy who enjoyed video games."

He'd re-enlisted for six years after serving his initial two-year assignment, she said. Jason Hunt was previously stationed at Fort Stewart in Georgia.

Sgt. Amy Krueger

The 29-year-old soldier from Kiel, Wis., joined the Army after the 2001 terrorist attacks and had vowed to take on Osama bin Laden.

Her mother, Jeri Krueger, says Amy Krueger had arrived at Fort Hood on Tuesday. She tells the Herald Times Reporter of Manitowoc, Wis., that her daughter was scheduled to be sent to Afghanistan in December.

Jeri Krueger recalls telling her daughter that she could not take on bin Laden by herself. The mother recalls her daughter's response:

"Watch me."

Kiel High School Principal Dario Talerico told The Associated Press that Krueger graduated from the school in 1998 and had spoken at least once to local elementary school students about her career.

Talerico says he remembers Amy Krueger as "a very good kid, who like most kids in a small town are just looking for what their next step in life was going to be and she chose the military. Once she got into the military, she really connected with that kind of lifestyle and