An Army paratrooper from Rolla, Missouri has been killed in action in Afghanistan. Private First Class Richard McNulty III was one of two soldiers killed May 13th in Bowri Tana, Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked their Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

McNulty and Sergeant Brian Walker were assigned to the 25th Infantry Division based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

McNulty, 22, from Rolla, Mo., was the driver of the vehicle.  He joined the Army in July 2010 and was assigned to JBER in February 2011.

Walker, 25, from Lucerne Valley, Calif., was the commander of the vehicle at the time of the incident.  He joined the Army in July 2007 and served at Fort Bragg, N.C. before arriving at JBER in August 2011. He had one previous deployment to Afghanistan from May 2009 to May 2010.

The next of kin have been notified.

The “Waynesville Daily Guide” reports McNulty was a Rolla High School graduate and soccer star. He was married in February of 2010 and his wife, Hannah, is due to give birth to their first child at the end of June.

McNulty was due to return home in three weeks.

According to his brother McNulty’s body has already arrived in Dover, Del., and will be arriving in Missouri either Sunday night or Monday.