A 29-year-old soldier based in Schweinfurt, Germany, was killed Wednesday in a rocket attack on his convoy in Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense.

Pfc. Russell E. Madden, assigned to 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, is the third member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team to be killed in Afghanistan since the unit deployed late last year.

The brigade will hold two memorial services for Madden. The first will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Ledward Chapel in Schweinfurt, his home base. The other will be 2 p.m. July 8 in Vicenza, Italy, where the brigade is headquartered.

Madden, a native of Dayton, Ky., joined the Army two years ago in part to obtain medical insurance coverage for his son, according to an online report filed at Cincinnati.com, which is affiliated with the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper.

His sister, Lindsey, said in the report that her 4-year-old nephew, Parker, has cystic fibrosis and her brother didn’t have adequate medical coverage at his former job to support him.

She was printing out her brother’s latest e-mail for their parents when Army personnel arrived at the house to report his death, according to the report.

The report said he is survived by his wife, Michelle, and two sons; parents Martin and Pamela, his sister and a brother, Martin.

Madden was a star athlete at Bellevue High School before graduating in 2000. A former classmate, Justin Scott, died in Iraq in 2004, according to the report.

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