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Tiffany Anne Steele Wagstaff, the widow of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Wagstaff, lays flowers on his coffin after a graveside ceremony held at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. Wagstaff, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed when his helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
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An honor guard performs military funeral honors during the graveside ceremony for Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Wagstaff at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. Wagstaff, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed when his helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
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The casket carrying the remains of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Wagstaff arrives at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. Wagstaff, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed when his helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
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The casket carrying the remains of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Wagstaff is carried by an honor guard to a gravesite at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. Wagstaff, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed when his helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
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A Black Hawk helicopter performs a fly over during the graveside ceremony for Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Wagstaff at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. Wagstaff, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed when his helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
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Tiffany Anne Steele Wagstaff, left, the widow of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Wagstaff, sits alongside Wagstaff's mother Suzanne Wagstaff and father Ron Wagstaff during a graveside ceremony held at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. Wagstaff, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed when his helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
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Tiffany Anne Steele Wagstaff (CQ), left, the widow of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Wagstaff (CQ), sits alongside Wagstaff's mother Suzanne Wagstaff (CQ) and father Ron Wagstaff (CQ) during a graveside ceremony held at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. Wagstaff, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed when his helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
Mark Johnston
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Tiffany Anne Steele Wagstaff (CQ), the widow of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Wagstaff (CQ), lays flowers on his coffin after a graveside ceremony held at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. Wagstaff, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed when his helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
Mark Johnston
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An honor guard performs military funeral honors during the graveside ceremony for Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Wagstaff (CQ) at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. Wagstaff, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed when his helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
Mark Johnston
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The casket carrying the remains of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Wagstaff (CQ) arrives at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. Wagstaff, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed when his helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
Mark Johnston
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A Black Hawk helicopter performs a fly over during the graveside ceremony for Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Wagstaff (CQ) at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. Wagstaff, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed when his helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
Mark Johnston
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The casket carrying the remains of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Wagstaff (CQ) is carried by an honor guard to a gravesite at the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. Wagstaff, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed when his helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
Mark Johnston
An overflowing crowd turned out to honor a Utah hero on Tuesday.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew G. Wagstaff, an Orem native, died while piloting a military helicopter in Afghanistan. He leaves behind his wife, Tiffany Wagstaff, and his parents, Ron and Suzanne Wagstaff. Matthew Wagstaff, 34, was a Black Hawk pilot with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
An emotional two-hour funeral was followed by a police-escorted procession to the Utah Veterans Memorial Cemetery. The casket was carried behind a motorcycle in glass hearse; miles of roads were closed to make way for the retinue.
At the cemetery, Wagstaff’s widow and mother read a poem together in Wagstaff’s honor. The flag, which had draped the casket was presented to the family, as Wagstaff’s widow sobbed openly. As the service closed, Suzanne Wagstaff placed a red rose on her son’s casket, kissed the casket, turned back toward her family and then apparently fainted. She was helped to her feet by family members.
The family’s last request after the cemetery service was for the crowd of onlookers to smile, a theme that began during the funeral service.
“Today, we have to smile for now,” said Ron Wagstaff as he eulogized his son. He said the line was a quote from his son’s wife. “We have to smile for Matt. That is what he would want.”
Wagstaff remembered his son as intelligent and a methodical thinker with a photographic memory. Several college friends said he rarely needed to study to get the best grades in class.
The fallen hero was also Utes fan who had played college football himself for Utah State. He wanted to be a pilot from childhood and died having fulfilled his life-long dream, Ron Wagstaff said.
“He had the skill and courage to fly day after day in the most inhospitable terrain in the world,” said friend Pat Hoggan, speaking in the funeral. “He was not a hero for the way he died. He was a hero for the way he lived his life.”
“He offered his friendship with no strings attached, no limits,” said friend Angel “Arod” Rodriguez, speaking during the funeral.
Wagstaff attended Orem High School and Utah State University. During his time in the Army, Wagstaff served three tours of duty, including one in Iraq and two in Afghanistan. According to Fort Campbell media relations officer Rick Rzepka, Wagstaff was deployed to Afghanistan in March.
In January, Wagstaff married his wife, Tiffany, and intended to take her on a honeymoon when he came home for a short leave this month.
Caleb Warnock can be reached at cwarnock@heraldextra.com.
