COLCHESTER, Vt.—Two Vermont National Guard soldiers -- one from Vermont, one from Connecticut -- were killed in a firefight in Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.
Sgt. Tristan Southworth, 21, of Walden, and Sgt. Steven J. Deluzio, 25, of South Glastonbury, Conn., died Sunday in a prolonged gunbattle after their unit was attacked by insurgents using small arms and rocket propelled grenades in Paktika Province, about 12 miles west of the border with Pakistan.
An Afghan border police officer was killed in the same battle and another Vermont soldier was wounded, the guard said. The wounded soldier, whose name was not released, is expected to return to duty.
Vermont Guard officials didn't have any details about how Deluzio was killed. Southworth was trying to rescue a fellow soldier when he died, the guard said.
Southworth had the same compassion for others back home in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, where he was a three-sport standout at Hazen Union School, according to his basketball coach, Aaron Hill.
"He was an amazing kid, very caring, always looked to take care of other people," Hill said. "He was one of the stars of the team, but he didn't act like that. He was a very selfless kid, liked to give other people credit."
His kindness was felt off the court, too.
"At school, once in a while, you'd see him at lunchtime, eating with the athletes and the so-called popular kids. sometimes, you'd seen him go sit with the kids who weren't so popular or with special-needs kids," Hill said. "I think that says a lot about him."
Southworth joined the Guard while in high school in April 2006, graduated from Hazen Union in 2007 and was deployed to Afghanistan in March 2010.
Like Southworth, Deluzio was a member of Alpha Company 3-172nd Infantry, a Mountain unit based in Jericho, after graduating from Glastonbury High School in 2003 and attending Norwich and Hofstra universities.
"This is a tough time in Afghanistan for our brigade," said Vermont National Guard Maj. Gen. Michael Dubie, who reassured families of Guard members that the soldiers are the highly trained and well prepared.
"The families need to know that we are ready for the mission, we're capable of the mission," said Dubie, who fought back tears when asked about Southworth's family, whom he met with on Monday.
Southworth leaves behind his parents and two younger brothers.
Deluzio leaves behind his parents, fiance, and brother, staff Sgt. Scott Deluzio, a member of Connecticut Guard, who returned home from Afghanistan for his brother's funeral.
"He's a hero, and he's the greatest son," said his father, Mark DeLuzio, his voice choking with emotion. "Two sons I have -- the greatest you could ever ask for."
On Monday, hundreds of troops honored the fallen soldiers at a ceremony at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, Dubie said.
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell ordered flags lowered to half staff to honor Deluzio.
"Please honor the memory of this brave soldier, who gave his life for our liberty. We will be forever grateful for his dedication to duty, to our freedom and the American ideals we hold so dear," Rell said Tuesday.
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AP Correspondent John Curran contributed to this report from Montpelier, Vt.
