A 26-year-old soldier from Yonkers, N.Y., was killed in Afghanistan last week when a bomb detonated near a vehicle he and his unit were in.
Sgt. Edward J. Frank II died Thursday in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan from the bomb-related injuries, according to the Department of Defense. Four other soldiers from his unit died in the same explosion.
Frank, an infantryman, had previously deployed twice to Iraq. He served there from August 2006 through November 2007, and again from December 2008 through November 2009, according to the Department of Defense.
This was his first deployment to Afghanistan. He deployed with his unit in March 2011.
Frank joined the Army in August 2005, and trained at Fort Benning, Ga., before serving in Germany from December 2005 through July 2010, when he arrived at Fort Drum, according to the Department of Defense.
Frank's awards and decorations include two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, two Army Good Conduct Medals, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the NATO Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
Frank is survived by his wife, three children, father and mother.
Local
The four other soldiers who died in the explosion were identified as: Spc. Jameel T. Freeman, 26, of Baltimore; Spc. Patrick L. Lay, 21, of Fletcher, N.C.; Spc. Jordan M. Morris, 23, of Stillwater, Okla.; and Pfc. Rueben J. Lopez, 27, of Williams, Calif.
