Richard A. Dewater

Dewater, 21, was killed by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in the Korengal Valley, the U.S. Department of Defense announced.

He was the 129th military member with ties to Oregon or southwest Washington to die in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His grandfather, Richard Sims, 75, of Grants Pass, said Dewater had lived with him since childhood in Grants Pass. He attended Grants Pass High School before moving to Topeka, Kansas, where his father lives.

The firefight that led to Dewater's death was the subject of a New York Times story from a reporter, C.J. Shivers, who was embedded with Dewater's unit in Afghanistan.

A news report in the Daily Courier of Grants Pass said Dewater left behind a wife, Valerie, of Fort Hood, Texas. They were married a month before Dewater left for Afghanistan in July.

Dewater was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division based at Fort Hood.

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