FORT HOOD, Texas (CNN) -- A massacre killed 13 people at Fort Hood Army Post, a sprawling facility in Texas.

Here are thumbnail sketches of some of the victims:

Pfc. Michael Pearson

Bolingbrook, Illinois

Michael Pearson, 21, enlisted in the Army more than a year ago to realize his musical dream. He hoped the military would be his path to college, where he could study musical theory, his brother Kristopher Craig told CNN affiliate WGN-TV.

"He was really living his life playing guitar," Craig said. "When he picked up a guitar, we all understood that he was expressing himself."

Pearson was scheduled to deploy to either Iraq or Afghanistan in January, his brother said. He was learning to deactivate bombs and training in the Mojave Desert, said his mother, Sheryll Pearson. She was looking forward to seeing her son at Christmas.

He was shot three times in the spine and chest and died on the operating table, she said, according to TV affiliates in Chicago.

"His father is still in shock and very angry," Sheryll Pearson said. "We're all very angry."

Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka

West Jordan, Utah

Aaron Nemelka, 19, graduated from high school and enlisted in the military in the same year -- 2008. He was set to deploy to Afghanistan in January, his family told CNN affiliate KUTV.

Nemelka, the youngest of four children, was happy to offer his service, the family said in a letter read aloud by Lt. Col. Lisa Olsen of the National Guard to KUTV.

"Aaron was very happy as a combat engineer. He was anxious to be deployed to Afghanistan in January."

Family members said they were devastated by their loss.

"Aaron was the most kind and loving son, brother, nephew, cousin and favorite uncle."

Spc. Jason Dean Hunt

Tipton, Oklahoma

Hunt, 22, wanted to be part of something greater than himself, his sister Leila Willingham told CNN. He enlisted in the Army in 2006 and spent his 21st birthday in Iraq, she said. He chose to re-enlist, dedicating the next six years to the military.

"I think that says a lot for that kind of man who makes that kind of choice for his country," Willingham said.

Willingham sobbed as she talked about the love she had for a brother she was "super proud" of.

Hunt was set for his second deployment to Iraq, his grandmother, Kay Smith, told the Web site NewsOK. He had married two months earlier, she said.

Hunt graduated high school in 2005 and tested his hand at a career in information technology, Willingham said. But he had a different calling.

"I really feel like when he enlisted in the Army he fulfilled that part of himself that wanted to serve other people and live for something greater than himself," she said.

Willingham said she doesn't know the details of her brother's death, but wants to believe he died trying to save others. "It's something he'd do," she said

Sgt. Amy Krueger

Kiel, Wisconsin

Amy Krueger was a high school athlete who joined the military after the September 11 attacks, Kiel High School Principal Dario Talerico told the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.

"I know she was proud to serve and proud to share her experience," Talerico told the newspaper. "She took pride that she was able to serve her country."

Krueger played for the high school basketball and softball teams and graduated in 1998, Talerico said.

A high school friend who later shared an apartment with Krueger had fond memories of the sergeant.

"She was one of the best people you could have ever met," Carrie Marie Senkbeil told the newspaper.

Francheska Velez

Chicago, Illinois

Francheska Velez, 21, was a month shy of returning home for maternity leave; she was three months pregnant, her family told the Chicago Tribune.

Velez had recently returned from Iraq, where she disarmed bombs, her father, Juan Guillermo Velez, told the newspaper. Like other families, he understood the danger of serving in a combat zone, but he did not expect the sudden news of her death while she was on U.S. soil.

"I never [slept] because you never know," her father told the Tribune. "I never thought she was going to die here."

Francheska Velez had already spent three years in the military and recently re-enlisted for another three years, her family said.

She aspired to be a psychologist who helped soldiers manage the stresses of life in the military, her friends told the Chicago Tribune.

Michael Grant Cahill

Spokane, Washington

Michael Cahill, 62, liked his job as a physician's assistant at Fort Hood so much that he only took one week of recovery time after undergoing heart surgery, his sister told CNN affiliate KREM.

Cahill, who served in the Army Reserve, previously worked as a registered nurse, Marilyn Attebery told KREM. He later returned to school to pursue a career as a physician's assistant, she said. Cahill was assisting with physicals for soldiers preparing for deployment at the time of the shooting, his sister said.

"I'm just upset for all the families and for what went on here. They're talking about wars and show wars and it's right there in Fort Hood and it's just devastating to everybody and all the families", Attebery told KREM.

Cahill is survived by his wife, Joleen, three children and a grandson, Attebery said.

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