The hero West Virginia National Guard member who was killed after an ambush by an Afghan refugee in Washington, DC, was\u00a0a former social justice worker\u00a0\u201cwith a heart of gold\u201d \u2014 who dreamed of joining the FBI, according to friends.<\/p>\n
Sarah Beckstrom, 20, who died from wounds she suffered during the\u00a0cowardly attack Wednesday<\/a>, had joined the military to \u201cget her foot in the door for a career in the FBI,\u201d her friend and former boyfriend, Adam Carr, told\u00a0NBC News Friday.<\/a><\/p>\n Beckstrom had a \u201cheart of gold,\u201d according to those who knew the 20-year-old West Virginia National Guard member. Facebook \/ Gary Beckstrom<\/p>\n Follow the latest on the National Guard shooting in Washington, DC: <\/p>\n Beckstrom,\u00a0of Summersville,\u00a0worked at a health center for people with mental illness and substance abuse problems before she was deployed\u00a0roughly three months ago, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n \u201cShe doesn\u2019t even have to know you, and she\u2019ll do anything for you,\u201d said Carr, who said they stayed on good terms when they broke up last month after six years together.<\/p>\n \u201c[She\u2019s] one of the most forgiving people.\u201d<\/p>\n Beckstrom loved the outdoors and can be seen in photos hunting, roasting marshmallows over a fire and posing happily with Carr\u2019s brother\u2019s Dutch shepherd, Major.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was the sweetest girl. She was hard not to love. You loved her the minute you met her,\u201d Carr\u2019s tearful mom, Eva Carr, told the outlet\u00a0\u2014 adding that she was \u201clike a daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201c[She had] a heart of gold.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah Beckstrom, 20, hoped to join the FBI after her National Guard stint. Facebook \/ Sarah Beckstrom<\/p>\n Beckstrom enlisted in the West Virginia National Guard on June 26, 2023, and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company. She was deployed to the nation\u2019s capital in August, when President Trump ordered troops to the city<\/a> for the\u00a0so-called \u201cD.C. Safe and Beautiful Mission.\u201d<\/p>\n Beckstrom at first didn\u2019t want to go to DC because she was worried about feeling\u00a0homesick and lonesome, Adam Carr said.<\/p>\n \u201cShe hated it. She cried about it,\u201d he recalled to NBC News.<\/p>\n But she soon began to enjoy the job and made military friends, who nicknamed her \u201cBecky,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Beckstrom also worked at a health center to help individuals suffering from mental illness and substance abuse problems. US Attorney’s Office\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n Beckstrom eventually had the option to return to West Virginia sooner, but she chose to stay in the capital, he said.<\/p>\n In her downtime, she visited monuments and museums, took photos and reveled in learning about the city\u2019s history.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that she chose both to enlist in the National Guard and to work at a community behavioral health center is testament to her passion for helping others,\u201d Marcie Vaughan, CEO of Seneca Health Services, which runs the mental health center where she worked before deployment, told the outlet.<\/p>\n Trump\u00a0announced Beckstrom\u2019s death<\/a>\u00a0Thursday, during a Thanksgiving Day phone call with US troops, describing her as a \u201chighly respected, young, magnificent person.\u201d<\/p>\n Beckstrom\u2019s heartbroken father, Gary Beckstrom, wrote in a Facebook post that his daughter succumbed to her wounds, saying, \u201cMy baby girl has passed to glory.\u201d Facebook \/ Sarah Beckstrom<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s looking down at us right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The other National Guard member wounded in the shooting is US Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, who\u00a0 rump said was in \u201cvery bad shape\u201d and \u201cfighting for his life.\u201d<\/p>\n West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey later called Beckstrom brave and selfless for serving her country.<\/p>\n \u201cSarah served with courage, extraordinary resolve, and an unwavering sense of duty to her state and to her nation. She answered the call to serve, stepped forward willingly, and carried out her mission with the strength and character that define the very best of the West Virginia National Guard,\u201d Morrisey said in\u00a0a post on X<\/a>\u00a0Thursday.<\/p>\n Beckstrom\u2019s heartbroken father, Gary Beckstrom, said Thursday he was holding her hand as she clung to life.<\/p>\n \u201cShe has a mortal wound. It\u2019s not going to be a recovery,\u201d he told\u00a0The New York Times.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy baby girl has passed to glory,\u201d he later wrote in a\u00a0brief Facebook post.<\/p>\n