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Soldier From Naperville Killed in Afghanistan
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (AP) -- The Defense Department has confirmed the explosion of a roadside bomb in Afghanistan last week killed a soldier from the Chicago suburb of Naperville.

Authorities say Army Pfc. Gunnar Hotchkin was killed Wednesday when the blast flipped over the tank he was riding in.

Hotchkin was assigned to the 161st Engineer Support Company, 27th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade, 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Childhood friend Preston Bokos says Hotchkin, a carpenter, joined the Army at age 30 after being laid off when the company he was working for folded. Hotchkin enlisted to support his wife, Erin, and three children.

Bokos says it was Hotchkin's intent to ride out the recession in the military.

A 1997 graduate of Hinsdale Central High School, coach Tom Schweer says Hotchkin was an All-American swimmer.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
06 21 10 by Newsroom
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