Former Mountain Home resident killed in Afghanistan

Matthew Wilson attended tenth grade at Mountain Home High School.

A former Mountain Home resident, Matthew W. Wilson, 19, of Miller, Mo., was among three members of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, from Ft. Drum, N.Y., who died when an improvised explosive device (roadside bomb) blew up near their Humvee in Nerkh, Afghanistan, on Monday, June 1.

All were members of the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Battalion. The 2-87th deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in January 2009.

Private First Class Wilson was an ammunition handler with the 2-87th, 3rd BCT. He joined the Army in February 2008 and after completing training at Fort Benning, Ga., came to Fort Drum in June 2008.

Wilson had been awarded the National Defense Service Medal. He is survived by a wife, Ashlynn, whom he had married just before deploying.

According to his sister-in-law, Jenni Riedl of Las Vegas, Nev., Wilson had attended tenth grade at Mountain Home High School. His parents had both died of natural causes in 2003 and he lived with his brothers, sister-in-law and sister in Mountain Home, Riedl (who since has moved to Las Vegas), Mark and Dolores Riedl and Andrew Riedl. He also has a sister, Amy, who lives in Missouri.

Both of his brothers are currently in the Air Force, with one scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan later this year, Riedl said.

Wilson's body has been returned to the United States and is currently being held at the Dover AFB, Del., mortuary. He is expected to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery later this month, Riedl said.

Also killed in the attack was squad leader SSgt. Jeffrey A. Hall, 28, of Huntsville, Ala., and PFC Matthew D. Ogden, 23, of Corpus Christi, Texas.