A 21-year-old soldier from the St Louis area was killed in action Tuesday in Afghanistan.

The Defense Department says 21-year-old Army Specialist Jeffrey L. White of Catawissa, Missouri died April 3 in Khost province of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

Five other Soldiers were wounded in the incident.

 

 

White was was assigned to the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

Spc. White joined the Army in October 2009 and graduated from Basic Training, Advanced Individual Training and the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Ga. He arrived in Alaska in April 2010 and deployed with the Airborne brigade in December 2011. This was Spc. White’s first combat deployment.