Jair De Jesus Garcia

Private Jair De Jesus Garcia, 29, passed away this past Friday in Afghanistan. He and three other members of his army unit were killed when their military vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device in the Chowkay Valley, according to defense officials. He leaves behind a nine-year-old son and a wife.

Garcia, once an assistant soccer coach at Robert Fulton College Preparatory in Van Nuys, loved playing soccer and was one of the first members of the Riot Squad, a Los Angeles Galaxy supporters group. He enlisted in the Army last year and was deployed to Afghanistan in June as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

In a statement on the soccer website BigSoccer, Riot Squad leader Tommy Mack had this to say:

"One of the first members of the LA Riot Squad has fallen in Afghanistan. He was a great soccer player, a greater human, and a true hero. A Galaxy fan through and through, he exemplified the best in all of us. Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his friends, and most importantly his family."