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BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― A soldier from Bolingbrook was among the 13 people killed in the massacre at Fort Hood, Texas. Michael Pearson, 21, was shot three times and died in surgery Thursday night. He is being remembered as a loving person and a brave soldier.

"That family lost their gem" said neighbor Jessica Koerber. "Now none of the nieces and nephews will get to know him and the ones who did, lost the best uncle in the world."

Jessica Koerber lives next door to the family in Bolingbrook. She's struggling to make sense of an unthinkable tragedy.

"If that guy didn't want to go to Afganistan or Iraq, he should have shot himself instead of taking it out on a bunch of innocent people.

Pearson was one of 13 soldiers killed in the rampage at Fort Hood. He was expecting to be deployed to Iraq in January after a trip home to Bolingbrook for the holidays.

"He was the best son in the whole world; good student, good friend, loyal, hardworker. He was my best friend," his mother, Sheryll Pearson, said. "I was just shocked because I was getting ready for him, I was preparing for him to come home for Christmas and I knew he would probably be deployed in January and this was just amazing to me, it just doesn't seem real to me."

Michael Pearson quit what he figured was a dead-end furniture company job to join the military about a year ago.

"He felt he was in a rut. He wanted to travel, see the world," Sheryll Pearson told the Chicago Tribune. "He also wanted an opportunity to serve the country."

Pearson was an engineer trained to defuse bombs.

"We talked about it, but he pretty much knew what he wanted to do, and I stood behind him," his mother said. "I just want (everyone) to know he was the best son in the whole world."

He attended Bolingbrook High School, where he was involved in art and music. He graduated in 2006.

His cousin Mike Dostalek said Pearson wrote song lyrics that were wise beyond the soldier's years.

He showed reporters this line from one of Michael Pearson's poems: "I look only to the future for wisdom. To rock back and forth in my wooden chair."

Dostalek also said his cousin was a gifted musician.

"He was a virtuoso guitarist. He taught himself how to play piano," Dostaek said. "Jimi Hendrix was his idol and he looked a little like him when he played."

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

On Friday morning, several people came to the house offering their condolences, including a representative from the Valley View School District.

"It is a difficult day for the district," said District Safety Director Leroy Brown. "It's bad enough to lose someone at war, but to lose someone in civilian life makes it that much more traumatic."

Everyone who knew Michael Pearson has been trying to cope with an incredible loss.

"I felt sad. I know his mom real good," said family friend Frank Bicks. "He was a nice kid. That's all I can say."

Pearson graduated from Bolingbrook High School in 2006. He was described and an outstanding student who was active in ROTC. After graduating he worked at a furniture store and reportedly joined the army because he wanted to see the world.

Twelve other people were killed in the attack, including 21-year-old Francheska Velez of Chicago. Velez had recently returned from Iraq and was about to go on maternity leave, as she was three months pregnant. 

The suspected shooter in the attack, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, remained hospitalized in a coma Friday after being shot four times.

Military officials say they are still piecing together what may have pushed Hasan, an Army psychiatrist trained to help soldiers in distress, to turn on his comrades. There are also reports that some of the victims might have died in friendly fire.

CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot, CBS 2's Susan Carlson, the Associated Press and the Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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