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Camp Williams • A bugler blew taps beneath an uncertain gray sky. Seven members of the Utah Honor Guard fired a 21-gun salute across the velvet-green lawns at Utah Veterans Memorial Park. And U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot Matthew G. Wagstaff was laid to rest.

The 34-year-old chief warrant officer from Orem was remembered Tuesday as strong-willed but soft-hearted by 300 friends and family who gathered for his funeral and burial.

At the memorial service in South Jordan, longtime friend Pat Hoggan recalled Wagstaff as a brave pilot who made a difference on and off the battlefield.

"Matt is not a hero because of the way he died," he said. "He was a hero because of the way he lived."

The 10-year Army veteran was killed Sept. 21 in Afghanistan. The Army has yet to release details of the helicopter crash that claimed his life.

Hoggan remembered the burly six-foot-four, 250-pound Wagstaff as something of a big brother and a teddy bear.

"Beneath a tough exterior, he had a gentle and kind heart," Hoggan said.

In January, Wagstaff married "his soul mate," Tiffany Anne Steele, before shipping out on his second deployment to Afghanistan. He also served a tour of duty in Iraq.

Katy Byam, Wagstaff's mother-in-law, read a tribute written by co-pilot Trina Moreno, who is in Afghanistan. Moreno said Wagstaff always made sure that those around him were safe and well-trained.

"He was a great teacher in the cockpit," Moreno wrote.

Wagstaff's roommate at Utah State University, Greg Butler, recalled with a smile a college dance they attended. After a couple of beers, the future chief warrant officer did his best dance impression of pop icon Madonna. Her song "Vogue" was played during the service and got a laugh from pals who remembered Wagstaff's sense of humor.

Butler also noted his one-time roommate's generosity and said he was loyal to a fault.

"Tiffany," Butler said to Wagstaff's widow, "I've never seen him happier than when he was with you."

An emotional Ron Wagstaff reminisced about his hard-driving and intelligent son who, as a young man, was passionate about football and flying.

"He played football with everything he had," Ron Wagstaff said. "And he was one of those rare people who has a dream as a child and then makes it come true. He became a pilot."

Close friend Angel Rodriguez described Wagstaff as "larger than life."

"Keep his legacy of selfless friendship alive. Be there for one another," Rodriguez said. "We have lost a dear friend … but heaven gained an angel."

At the grave site, an Army color guard removed the stars and stripes from Wagstaff's coffin. In perfect coordination, the six-member team folded Old Glory into a perfect triangle and presented it to a tearful Tiffany Wagstaff.

The bagpipes blew "Amazing Grace" as friends and family placed boutonnieres on the coffin and said a final goodbye.

csmart@sltrib.com