Number 82

Specialist Kevin J. Graham, 27, of Benton, Kentucky, died September 26 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when a insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

A western Kentucky pastor says a soldier who died when a roadside bomb hit his vehicle in Afghanistan believed he was doing his life's work in the Army.

The Rev. Jonathan Goodman told The Paducah Sun that 27-year-old Spc. Kevin J. Graham of Benton was honored to serve his country.

Graham died Saturday in Kandahar of wounds suffered in the attack by insurgents. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Wash.

Goodman says Graham joined the Army in 2007, was married in Washington and had a stepson. The pastor says Graham's parents brought reports of their son to church often and that members of the church would pray for him.

The newspaper said Graham's parents, Dan and Sandy Graham, live near Fairdealing and were at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Monday when their son's body was returned to the United States. Graham has three older brothers.

Graham was an indirect-fire infantryman, was on his first deployment. He joined the Army in July 2007 and reported to Fort Lewis that December.

As of Monday, Sept. 28, at least 773 Americans have died in the AfPak clusterfuck, for no reason any rational person can discern.