Flint soldier killed in IED attack

FLINT, Mich. (AP) - A 25-year-old combat engineer from Michigan and a 20-year-old specialist from Illinois have been killed in an insurgent attack in Afghanistan.

Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Lilly of Flint was part of the 18th Engineer Company from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.

The Pentagon says Lilly and 20-year-old Spc. Trevor Pinnick of Lawrenceville, Ill., were injured Tuesday in an attack in Kandahar province.

Pinnick died that day. Lilly's aunt Martha Alexander tells WJRT-TV that her nephew died Thursday on a medical flight to Germany.

Lilly was a Carman Ainsworth High School graduate and also served in Iraq. He's survived by a wife and 3-year-old son.

The News Tribune of Tacoma, Wash., says Lilly and Pinnick are among three engineers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord killed in Afghanistan within a week.

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Members of the U.S. armed forces with known Michigan ties who died in 2012 supporting military operations in Afghanistan:

-- Army Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Lilly, 25, of Flint died June 14 on a medical flight to Germany from injuries he sustained June 12 when he was hit by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Afghanistan. He was a combat engineer serving with the 18th Engineer Company from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

-- Army Spc. Vilmar Galarza Hernandez, 21, of Salinas, Calif., died May 26 in in Kandahar province when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. His wife is from Muskegon, Mich. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.

-- Army Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark, 43, a former resident of Spencerport, N.Y, and Addison, Mich., died May 1 in Tarin Kowt. He was a nurse assigned to A Company, Troop Command at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. His wife was in Texas chatting with him via Skype when he collapsed.

-- Air Force Tech. Sgt. Matthew S. Schwartz, 34, of Traverse City was killed Jan. 5 along with two other airmen when insurgents attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Helmand province. He was part of the 90th Civil Engineer Squadron from F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.