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AURORA, COLO. — As James Holmes unleashed a hail of gunfire in a crowded Aurora, Colo., movie theater, three men made a final act of sacrifice as they shielded their girlfriends from the horror and gave their lives to save others. Jon Blunk, Matt McQuinn and Alex Teves all died Friday morning from gunshots they took while covering their girlfriends in the theatre.

Their girlfriends, family members and loved ones remember them for their bravery, humor and passion. Jonathan Blunk “He’s a hero, and he’ll never be forgotten,” a tearful Jansen Young told the New York Daily News of Blunk. “Jon took a bullet for me.”

 “He was loving, the kind of guy you want your daughter to be with, and ultimately, she’s alive because of this, because he protected her,” Shellie Young, Jansen’s mother, told the Daily News. The Daily News reported that Jansen Young, 21, said Blunk took her to see Friday’s midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises” to celebrate her graduation from veterinarian school. Shellie Young said Blunk pushed her daughter under the seat and then covered her with his body.

“He was 6-feet-2, in incredible shape, which is why he was able to push her down under the seats of the theater,” the mother said.

 “He pushed her down on the floor and laid down on top of her and he died there.” Jansen Young told The Today Show this morning that Blunk told her to stay down and not look up, one of the last things he said to her before Holmes shot him. Blunk had high hopes for the future, with plans to re-enlist in the Navy and the goal of becoming a Navy SEAL. The 26-year-old served three tours in the Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea between 2004 and 2009, said close friend James Gill of Brighton, Colo.
“It was guts or glory for him,” Gill told The Associated Press.

“It always surprised me that he didn’t serve in a situation more on the front line. He wanted to be a first responder on the front line.” Blunk was also a certified firefighter and emergency medical technician, Gill added. “That’s something he would do,” Gill said. “If he was going to choose a way to die, that’s how he wanted to go — defending someone from a (person) like that.” Blunk, a 2004 graduate of Hug High School in Reno, Nev., most recently lived in Aurora and worked for a small flooring company.
 The Associated Press, The Reno Gazette-Journal and USA Today all contributed to this report.