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Fall River Guardsman Killed In Afghanistan

Pvt. Ethan Goncalo (Facebook)
Pvt. Ethan Goncalo (Facebook)

A Massachusetts National Guardsman from Fall River has died in Afghanistan.

The Pentagon has confirmed that 21-year-old Pvt. Ethan Goncalo died on Saturday. The military has not released details of his death.

Goncalo was a member of the 181st Infantry who joined the Guard in March.

He was a 2008 graduate of B.M.C. Durfee High School, where he was a power hitter on the school baseball team. His history teacher, Mark Costa, says Goncalo was a character and an avid Yankees fan.

"He loved to debate things and he did everything with a smile so you knew that you could joke around with him and talk to him about anything," Costa said.

Goncalo's former journalism teacher, Rachel Silva, says he was a good person who was very popular in school.

"Everyone knew Ethan," Silva said. "He just had that type of personality and when he would walk through the halls, everyone knew he was there and he was a great team member."

Goncalo is the fourth member of the military from Fall River to die in service in the past year, and the third soldier from Massachusetts to die in Afghanistan in the past two weeks.

Memorial and funeral plans are pending.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

This program aired on December 13, 2010. The audio for this program is not available.

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