GARY — The body of an Indiana National Guardsman killed in an attack in Afghanistan has returned home.
Indiana Patriot Guard riders and local law enforcement escorted the body of Spc. Sergio Eduardo Perez Jr. of Crown Point from Gary/Chicago International Airport to a funeral home in his hometown Wednesday.
The 21-year-old soldier died July 16 in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan after rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire hit the vehicle he was in. Also killed was 20-year-old Spc. Nicholas Andrew Taylor of Berne. They were members of a bomb-clearing unit from the Valparaiso-based 713th Engineer Company.
The Post-tribune and The Times of Munster report a funeral mass for Perez is scheduled for Friday at a Merrillville church.
