"It was like 15 shots that went off really quick. It was really deafening. He couldn't hear anything. Then he dropped to the floor to take cover," his father, George Stratton Jr., told USA TODAY Friday.

When his son peeked up to see what was happening, "he looked up and (the gunman) was standing five feet in front of him. He pointed down and shot George, then George went down because he was hit," said his father, a plumbing contractor in Post Falls, Idaho.

George Stratton III, 18, was hit once in the left shoulder and is among the 30 people wounded in the shooting rampage that terrorized the Texas Army installation. Thirteen others were killed.

Fort Hood officials have not released the names of the dead and wounded, but families across the country spoke Friday about being notified of their loved ones' deaths or survival. They described scenes of chaos and heroism amid the barrage of gunfire as soldiers, some of whom survived tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, faced violence at home.

All but two of the injured remain hospitalized, including Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who is the lone suspect in the shootings.

The elder Stratton said his son left him a voicemail Thursday afternoon as he was being loaded onto an ambulance. When he reached his son later, he was already at the hospital.

His son described the chaos of the shooting and his getaway: After getting shot, he grabbed his wounded arm and ran for the door, scanning the destruction around him, his father said. "He said he thought that one of the NCOs (noncommissioned officers) from his unit got hit," his father said.

George Stratton III joined the Army in November and has been at Fort Hood since June. He was expected to ship out to Afghanistan in January, his father said.

Stratton spoke with his son again Friday. "He's doing a lot better. He said his arm swelled up pretty big and he's in a lot of pain," he said. "As far as his mental state, he's probably in shock."

Staff Sgt. Joy Clark, 27, was standing in line when shots rang out, said her father, Jerry Nelson of Des Moines.

"She heard some noise and the soldier in front of her went down," he said. She tore off her jacket and knelt to apply it to his wound. "That's when she got shot," Nelson said.

The bullet tore through her left forearm and broke two bones. A soldier for seven years who was a medic before becoming an occupational therapist, his daughter reacted instinctively, Nelson says. She was about to deploy to Afghanistan.

Clark's husband, Josh Clark, drove all night to Temple, Texas, where his wife is hospitalized, Nelson says. He and his wife, Danise, are flying to Texas today. "I'm glad that she's alive … and very disappointed for those who lost their lives," Nelson says.

Cpl. Nathan Hewitt was hit by two bullets as he led other soldiers out of the Fort Hood building during the rampage, says his uncle Rex Deaton, who spoke with him two hours after the shooting.

Deaton told USA TODAY that Hewitt described one bullet grazing his hip and another hitting his calf. His nephew served in Iraq, left the Army and re-enlisted after he was laid off from a factory job, Deaton says. The corporal was at Fort Hood preparing to be deployed to Afghanistan.

Hewitt, 27, of Lafayette, Ind., was getting shots and a physical when the shooting began.

"He said the best he could recollect, a door swung open and he heard a lot of yelling," his uncle said. "He saw a man dressed in military garb or uniform, then there were just shots being fired all over the place and of course he hit the floor," Deaton says. "He directed himself and others to a back door and that's when he was hit."

"He's a very good young man," Deaton says. "He was very proud to be in the military."

Hewitt's mother, Liz Hewitt, who also lives in Lafayette, is preparing to travel to Texas to see her son, Deaton says. Gloria Deaton, Hewitt's aunt, says Liz Hewitt is a single mom who raised two sons. She's at work today at Purdue University's chemistry department.

Gloria Deaton says Nathan told his mom Thursday night not to call him before noon — he planned to sleep in. "We're all waiting to give him a big hug," Gloria Deaton says.

Private 1st Class Michael Pearson, 21, of Bolingbrook, Ill., who joined the Army last year and was training to deactivate bombs, was among the dead.

Pearson joined the Army because he had been working at a furniture company and "felt he was in a rut," his mother, Sheryll Pearson, told the Chicago Tribune. "He wanted to travel, see the world. He also wanted an opportunity to serve the country."

"There's no anger," said Leroy Brown, deputy mayor of Bolingbrook and safety director for the Valley View School District, who visited the Pearson home Friday.

But Pearson's family is deeply hurt, he told USA TODAY. "When you have a loved one go to war, it's almost like an expectation that something could happen in combat," he said — but not on a U.S. Army installation.

"We just talked about him being an all-around great person, great student, very good son," Brown said of his visit with the family. Pearson graduated from Bolingbrook High School in 2006 and was an ROTC member as a freshman, an A and B student and a great musician, he said.Pvt. Aaron Thomas Nemelka, 19, who was killed in the attack, was at the readiness center Thursday updating his medical records, military personnel records and personal information, said Master Sgt. Tammy Sower, the casualty assistant officer aiding the Nemelka family.

The West Jordan, Utah, man joined the Army in October 2008 and was preparing to deploy to the Middle East early next year, she said.

In a statement, Michael and Teena Nemelka said they were "devastated" by the loss of their youngest child, an Eagle Scout who loved skateboarding and soccer.

"Our family is so proud to have him serving our country in the military. Aaron was very happy as a combat engineer, anxious to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan in January," they said.

Newly promoted Staff Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29 was about to deploy for her second tour of Afghanistan. She arrived at Fort Hood on Tuesday and had been completing her last-minute preparations at the readiness center when the gunman struck and she was killed.

Krueger, a mental health specialist in the Army Reserves, had goals: a bachelor's degree in psychology, then a master's degree and possibly even a long career in the military as a police officer, said her best friend, Kristin Thayer, 28, of Kiel, Wisc., a military policewoman who recently completed her military service.

Krueger and Thayer, friends since their days at Kiel High School joined the military after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Krueger "wanted to serve her country," Thayer said. "She loved helping people."

Krueger served in Afghanistan in 2003 and found the experience difficult and challenging, "but she made the best of it. It's life changing. You learn to grow up," Thayer said.

Thayer says she'll remember the laughs she had with her closest friend. "It was never a dull moment with Amy," she said.

The officer who shot the gunman, Kimberly Munley, was wounded. "She happened to encounter the gunman. In an exchange of gunfire, she was wounded but managed to wound him four times," said Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, commanding general of Fort Hood. "It was an amazing and aggressive performance by this police officer."

Army Reserve Spc. Keara Bono was injured at Fort Hood, her family told the Kansas City Star. Her mother, Peggy McCarty, said Bono, 21, was preparing to go to Iraq. "I didn't know I had to worry about her getting shot down in Texas," McCarty told the newspaper as she prepared to fly to Texas. Bono's brother, Dustin Bono, said his sister told him, "They shot me! And I'm still here in this country,' " the newspaper said.

Jessica Loughran, a friend since they were sophomores in high school, told USA TODAY that Keara Bono married Joey Torkelson about a month and a half ago. She was at Fort Hood preparing for deployment to Iraq.

Said Loughran: "She wanted to be home, but she also was very proud to be doing her duty."

Contributing: The Associated Press