Army Sgt. Ryan J. Connolly, 24, Vacaville

Last summer, Ryan J. Connolly’s Army unit shipped out from Germany to Afghanistan, leaving the soldier behind while he awaited the birth of his first child. Kayla was born that June and he spent two weeks with her and his wife before rejoining his fellow soldiers.

He wouldn’t see his wife or daughter again for 10 months until they met at home in Northern California during an 18-day leave in April. He arrived wearing the same tattered uniform that he wore in Afghanistan.

On June 24, Connolly was killed when his vehicle struck an apparent land mine in the Khogyani district of eastern Afghanistan. He was 24.

Connolly died 14 days before his tour was scheduled to end. He had been promoted to sergeant and had enlisted again for two more years.

Like so many others, Connolly joined the Army because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He was 17 in 2001 when he watched news footage of a man who climbed out a window at the World Trade Center, dangling by a power cord until he fell. The man reminded Connolly of his father. “That guy felt like you,” he told his dad.

About two years later, Connolly was in New York for his uncle’s wedding, but his main interest was to visit the World Trade Center site, his sister Kelly Connolly said. What he saw deeply moved him. “He was upset,” she said. “He wasn’t crying, but I recall it affected him and he wanted to reflect on it.”

About eight months later, he enlisted in the Army. “We didn’t want him to go to Iraq,” said Bob Nelson, his stepfather. “We talked about it a couple times, and he came home one day and said, ‘I really want to join the Army. I want to serve my country and keep the bad guys at bay, and if that’s what it takes, that’s what I want to do.’ ”

Connolly became a medic and was assigned to the 173rd Special Troops Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Bamberg, Germany.

He met his wife, Stefanie, there at a friend’s wedding, in which he served as best man. Connolly and his wife, who lives in Stegaurach, Germany, would have been married two years this month.

Connolly was born in Walnut Creek, Calif., but his family moved to Santa Rosa, north of San Francisco, three weeks after his birth. He also lived for a year to the east in Vacaville with his mother and stepfather. He graduated from Piner High School in Santa Rosa and attended Santa Rosa Junior College and Solano Community College.

“Everyone who met him remembers him. Even if they just met him for 30 minutes, they have a story about him,” his stepfather said. “He’s one of those people who loved people.”

Connolly liked challenging himself physically. His father, Jim Connolly, remembers taking his son, then 6, to Donner Ski Ranch in the Sierra Nevada, near Truckee.

His father signed him up for a lesson, but before it started, Connolly had skied down the hill by himself.

He picked up an interest in classic cars from his father and became a NASCAR fan at a young age.

One time, race car driver Jeff Gordon made a personal appearance at a paint store before competing at the nearby Sears Point Raceway. Connolly, who was 12, and a friend arrived at the store early so they could be in the front row. Gordon was having lunch inside, and the two children were invited to join him.

Connolly liked being where things were happening, said his mother, Robin Nelson. When he was on patrol in April, a suicide bomber walked into a crowd, killing about 20 people. Connolly and two other medics were the first medical personnel on the scene, and they saved 17 Afghan residents, his mother said.

After returning from two weeks on patrol in the Tora Bora area, he called his father, who asked him how it went. “Stinky,” he said. “I finally get to change my socks and underwear for the first time in two weeks.”

Connolly’s next assignment was going to be as a medic at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., but he also considered becoming a helicopter pilot. After spending so much time in Afghanistan, he discovered that “he liked being in the thick of the action, so he wanted to pursue something that wasn’t a humdrum job,” his mother said.

On July 7, Mass for Connolly was celebrated at St. Rose’s Church in Santa Rosa. A motorcycle procession accompanied his body from the airport to the funeral home and from the church to Santa Rosa Memorial Park.

To commemorate his life, the forward operating base where he was stationed in Afghanistan and the aid station on the main base have been renamed in his honor.

The Kayla Connolly Trust Fund has been established for his daughter at First Northern Bank, 555 Mason St., Suite 100, Vacaville, CA 95688. The account number is 91015140.

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jeff.gottlieb@latimes.com