Youngstown Vindicator -- The 25-year-old served two tours in Iraq and was deployed to Afghanistan in November 2008.

SHARPSVILLE, Pa. — Marine Corps Sgt. David W. Wallace III, 25, a 2002 graduate of Sharpsville High School, was killed Tuesday by an improvised explosive device while sweeping a road for mines in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Also killed Tuesday in Helmand Province was Marine Sgt. Trevor J. Johnson, 23, of Forsyth, Mont.

The Marines were assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Wallace, a Marine combat engineer, was the son of Carol Wallace of Sharpsville and the late David Wallace. His brother, Steven, is stationed with the Navy in Guam.

Wallace also leaves his wife, Erica, of Jacksonville, N.C., a stepson, Landon, 5, and a daughter, Brooklyn, 2. Erica’s father is also a Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune.

John McCay, a family friend, said the family last saw David in September 2008 just two months before he was sent to Afghanistan. McCay described David as “lighthearted” and a “very nice, pleasant man” who was a Marine through-and-through.

Wallace, who enlisted in the Marine Corps on Sept. 23, 2002, was deployed twice to Iraq, in 2004 and 2005 and again in 2007 and 2008, and then to Afghanistan in November 2008.

His many awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.

Funeral arrangements are pending at the Donaldson-Mohney Funeral Home in Sharpsville.

==Another news story==

Associated Press -- David W. Wallace III loved sports, particularly football and wrestling, and hunting and fishing.

“He was fun-loving,” said his mother, Carol Wallace. “He was a jokester. Pranks were not beneath him.”

“He was just a goofball,” said Derek Songer, a friend. “He was silly. He always made you smile.”

Wallace, 25, of Sharpsville, Pa., was killed Jan. 27 by a bomb blast in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was a 2002 high school graduate and was assigned to Camp Lejeune, N.C.

He served two tours in Iraq, from September 2004 to April 2005 and July 2007 to January 2008. He also served in Bangladesh, Dubai and other parts of the world.

Wallace worked hard and gave 100 percent, said John Napotnik, who was his defensive line coach in high school and taught him psychology in his senior year.

Off the field, Wallace impressed people with his quiet friendliness.

“I really liked the kid. He was a great kid,” Napotnik said.

Wallace leaves behind his wife, Erica, a 5-year-old stepson, Landon, and a 2-year-old daughter, Brooklyn.

“He was a real American hero,” said a friend, Ron Haywood.

“He was the type of guy, whatever he did, he did 110 percent.”