Army Sgt. Garrick Louis Eppinger, Jr.'s parents say he was killed Saturday in the line of duty. 

His mother says family members are flying to Dover Air Force Base for Eppinger's return to the U.S. 

The 25-year-old Eppinger was on his third tour of duty.

Eppinger was one of more than 100 Army reservists from the Appleton-based 395th Ordnance Co. who headed to Fort Hood, Texas in July before being deployed to Afghanistan.

Eppinger's previous two tours of duty were in Iraq.

"He was a young man who fully grasped the ideals of this country and chose to serve on the ultimate sacrifice to defend those ideals," Garrick Eppinger Sr. told FOX 11.

Eppinger is a 2005 graduate of Appleton North High School. He also had been taking classes at UW-Fox Valley.

I hope, the fact that this young man gave the ultimate sacrifice for his counrty, his family can take some solice in his heroism. My thoughts and prayers are with you Eppinger family.