Army Sgt Baddick was assigned to 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regimentt, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He drowned as he tried to rescue another soldier whose vehicle had entered a canal near Abu Ghraib Prison. The vehicle plunged into the canal as troops responded to a reported mortar attack near the prison. Two soldiers in the vehicle swam to safety but a third was trapped in the vehicle and drowned. Baddick, who was part of a dive rescue team from the Fort Bragg-based 82nd Airborne Division, failed to resurface during the rescue and recovery effort and his body was found later. AJ never thought twice before rushing to help someone. He feared nothing - there was no hesitation in him. Since he was a child, he had wanted to be a paratrooper like his father. Neighbors remember the youngster being a hilarious handful; one had even appropriated the nickname "Dennis the Menace" for the blondish mischief-maker. As a teen, he helped out on rafting excursions on the Lehigh River and then worked as a river guide for several years after high school. More than six feet tall and an avid kayaker and swimmer, he was described by friends as having a "lean-and-mean" build. AJ was a 1997 graduate of Jim Thorpe Area Senior High School who enlisted in the Army in 1999 and re-enlisted for six years in 2002. He received the Enduring Freedom Army Achievement Medal this year and in 2002 he received the Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service. AJ was in Iraq about a month and in 2002 worked with computers tracing troops from Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. He was a volunteer fire fighter for Jim Thorpe Fire Company and a volunteer for the ambulance corps. AJ was engaged to be married.
Army Sgt Baddick was assigned to 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regimentt, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He drowned as he tried to rescue another soldier whose vehicle had entered a canal near Abu Ghraib Prison. The vehicle plunged into the canal as troops responded to a reported mortar attack near the prison. Two soldiers in the vehicle swam to safety but a third was trapped in the vehicle and drowned. Baddick, who was part of a dive rescue team from the Fort Bragg-based 82nd Airborne Division, failed to resurface during the rescue and recovery effort and his body was found later. AJ never thought twice before rushing to help someone. He feared nothing - there was no hesitation in him. Since he was a child, he had wanted to be a paratrooper like his father. Neighbors remember the youngster being a hilarious handful; one had even appropriated the nickname "Dennis the Menace" for the blondish mischief-maker. As a teen, he helped out on rafting excursions on the Lehigh River and then worked as a river guide for several years after high school. More than six feet tall and an avid kayaker and swimmer, he was described by friends as having a "lean-and-mean" build. AJ was a 1997 graduate of Jim Thorpe Area Senior High School who enlisted in the Army in 1999 and re-enlisted for six years in 2002. He received the Enduring Freedom Army Achievement Medal this year and in 2002 he received the Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service. AJ was in Iraq about a month and in 2002 worked with computers tracing troops from Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. He was a volunteer fire fighter for Jim Thorpe Fire Company and a volunteer for the ambulance corps. AJ was engaged to be married.
Bio by: Brenda N
