Chicago Tribune -- Pfc. Matthew M. Martinek of DeKalb came from a family of soldiers. One grandfather was a World War II veteran and the other fought in the Korean War. An uncle fought in Operation Desert Storm, and Martinek's two older brothers served tours in Iraq.

Martinek, 20, was continuing the family tradition when he died Friday, a week after his patrol came under attack in Afghanistan. He was a paratrooper with the 501st Infantry Regiment based in Alaska and had been fighting in Afghanistan since February.

Army officials said Monday that the patrol's vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb Sept. 4 in Paktika province. The six soldiers and their lieutenant had dismounted to secure the vehicle when they were fired upon.

Martinek was hit in the back of the head and taken to the Army's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where he died.

"He tried not to talk too much about what he was doing, but he said he liked helping people," said his brother Travis Wright.

Martinek graduated from Bartlett High School in 2007, his Facebook page stated. He played on the football team and was known for his outgoing personality, Wright said. "He could always make someone laugh," Wright said.

A wake has been tentatively scheduled for Sept. 25 at Ahlgrim & Sons Funeral & Cremation Services, 330 W. Golf Rd., Schaumburg. A funeral is scheduled for Sept. 26, with a procession starting at the funeral home.

Survivors include his father, Michael; mother, Cheryl Brandes Ferguson; and two other brothers, Frank and Michael Martinek Jr.