WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. — This small town is reeling from the death of another local resident who died in military action. Army Pfc. Marc Paul Decoteau was killed in action in Afghanistan on Jan. 29, according to military officials.

Decoteau was stationed in Afghanistan as part of a Psychological Operations unit based out of Fort Bragg, N.C., Maj. Greg Heilshorn of the New Hampshire National Guard told the New Hampshire Union Leader. His remains were to return Jan. 31 at Dover, Del., Air Force Base, military officials said.

KOMO News -- A soldier from Joint Base Lewis-McChord was killed last week by bomb in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday.

Staff Sgt. Rusty H. Christian, 24, was killed January 28 while his unit was on patrol in Oruzgan province.

Associated Press --Carlos Gill was an active member of his church and "accepted Christ at an early age," his family wrote in an obituary.

Gill was heavily involved in Eureka Chapel Church in his hometown of Fayetteville, N.C. He served as a youth usher, percussionist and trustee, and sang in the youth choir, male chorus and gospel choir.

The Associated Press --David Smith loved to dance — and when he stepped onto a dance floor, people made sure to make room.

His girlfriend, Kimberly Mott, said Smith loved to be the center of attention, recalling the way he danced at his sister’s wedding last summer.

“He always wore a hat, and he would always incorporate the brim of the hat with the dancing,” Mott said. “Even if he didn’t have a hat, he would pretend it was there.”

Associated Press --Everyone speaks highly of Zach Smith in his hometown, Hornell, N.Y.

"He always lifted everyone's spirits," says a former employer. "He was the funniest kid I ever met," says a childhood friend.

His former football coach heaped on the most praise.

"They don't come any better," Hornell High School athletic director Gene Mastin said. "If Hornell ever had a favorite son it was probably Zach Smith. He was universally liked. Everything about him was good."

Examiner.com -- Gov. Steve Beshear has directed that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010 in honor of a Kentucky Marine who died while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. According to the Department of Defense, Lance Cpl. Timothy J. Poole, 22, of Bowling Green, Ky. died Jan. 24 with two other Marines while supporting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

RIVERVIEW — Elderly residents sat in wheelchairs along Providence Road on Thursday, blankets on their knees and American Flags in hand, to honor a man a third their age.

Farther south on the road, 16-year old Maggie Gundlach stood at attention in her Junior ROTC uniform, saluting as a fallen Marine passed by.

Jewish Community Voice -- The Jewish community of Southern New Jersey laid a true hero to rest when Lance Corporal Jeremy Kane was buried following a moving funeral at Cong. M’kor Shalom on Friday, Jan. 29. Hundreds came to bid him farewell. Hundreds moreincluding many students from Cherry Hill High School East, lined Kresson Road on the bitterly cold day as the funeral procession made its way from the synagogue to Locustwood Memorial Park.

The Commercial Appeal --Xin Qi, 25, of Cordova, was a Navy hospital corpsman on his first deployment to Afghanistan when he died in the line of duty Saturday from injuries suffered that same day.

"All we know is that he was out on patrol and was killed," said Maj. Paul Greenberg, the media officer for the Marine Forces Reserve Public Affairs Office in New Orleans. "We really don't like to say too much about the location."

The Associated Press --Many who knew Thaddeus Montgomery knew he loved the outdoors — so much so that he took a job in Yellowstone Park, where he spent the summer in 2001.

Greg Forsythe of West Yellowstone, Mont., had known Montgomery and called him a “unique individual and a good kid.”

Montgomery, 29, died Jan. 20 at Lorengal Outpost, Afghanistan, of noncombat related injuries. He was assigned to Fort Carson, Colo.