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A soldier serving in the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment was killed Monday in Abdulhamid Kalay, Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense.

Spc. Louis R. Fastuca, a 24-year-old from West Chester, Pa., died from wounds after the vehicle he was in struck a roadside bomb. Fastuca, assigned to 2nd Platoon, Company D, is the fifth member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team to be killed since the unit deployed at the end of last year.

A remembrance ceremony is set for 3 p.m. Tuesday at the base chapel on Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy. Spc. Matthew R. Hennigan and Pfc. Russell E. Madden, two other brigade soldiers based in Germany who have died in the past few weeks, will be remembered in the same ceremony.

In addition, a separate ceremony will be held on July 15 in Bamberg, Germany, for Hennigan and Fastuca.

Fastuca was born in Boston and joined the Army in April 2006, according to his brigade biography. He joined the battalion after graduating from airborne school. He was assigned to Company H, 3rd Infantry Regiment before he served in the 173rd. He was involved in more than 120 missions in Afghanistan, according to the battalion.

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