U.S. Army Pfc. Matthew H. Walker, 20, was killed June 5, in Paktika province, Afghanistan. He died of wounds suffered when enemy fire attacked his unit, according to the Department of Defense.
He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Walker grew up in Hillsboro, Missouri, and was a 2012 graduate of Grandview High School, according to St. Louis television station KTVI-TV.
He leaves behind his parents, two sisters, and a brother.
Walker's best friend, Daniel Nixon, told KTVI-TV Walker always wanted to be a soldier - just like his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather:
