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An Onalaska soldier was killed Sunday when his convoy was attacked in Afghanistan. First Lt. Nick A. Dewhirst, 25, was in the Qalandar District of the Khost Province when his vehicle came under small arms and grenade fire, the Army announced today.
Dewhirst was deployed to Afghanistan last spring with the 101st Airborne Division of Fort Campbell, Ky.
He is the 96th service member from Wisconsin to die in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dewhirst is survived by his parents, Randy and Susan Dewhirst of Onalaska. They declined to comment today.
An Eagle Scout, Dewhirst was a 2001 graduate of Onalaska High School, where he served on the student council and a member of the National Honor Society.
After a year at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., Dewhirst received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned in 2006. His military awards included the National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
The Army will hold a memorial service in Afghanistan.
Dewhirst is the first local service member to die in the war on terror since Senior Airman Adam Servais of Onalaska died Aug. 19, 2006 in Afghanistan. Servais also graduated from OHS in 2001.
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