Age: 44

Hometown: Cypress, TX

Corps Outfit: Unknown

Military Unit: 1st Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division

Ever since Richard M. Salter got a toy helicopter one Christmas, he was determined to one day fly a real helicopter. And he did.

"He loved it, he absolutely loved it," said his sister, Sara Ward.

Salter, 44, of Cypress, Texas, was killed Dec. 26 in Baghdad in a helicopter accident. He was on his second tour and was assigned to Fort Hood.

Salter joined the Army after graduating from Texas A&M University in 1985. He recently finished having his dream house built on four acres on the Lampasas River.

Salter and his wife designed the home, which included a barbecue smoker. He used the smoker twice, cooking his favorite food -- barbecue brisket, Texas style.

Ward said he loved to fish and hunt and "probably knew everything about Texas you could imagine," including the history of the Alamo, which he could recite from memory.

"He was funny," Ward said. "He was a great cook, always ready with a joke. When you were a friend, you became a member of his family."

He is survived by his wife, Janet; two sons, Jarrett, 15, and Lane, a newborn; and two daughters, Christina, 18, and Danielle, 6.

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

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