A Joint Base Lewis-McChord lieutenant from Wisconsin was killed in Afghanistan Wednesday while leading a foot patrol in Kandahar Province.

Lt. David Johnson, 24, is the first casualty this year in the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. The Stryker brigade deployed with about 2,500 soldiers to Afghanistan last month and took positions in Afghanistan’s southern provinces of Zabul and Kandahar.

He is a graduate of Evangel University in Springfield, Mo. who was commissioned in the Army in 2010 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. The Defense Department said he was killed by an improvised explosive.

“We are very proud of our son,” his parents, Andrew and Laura Johnson, said in a written statement released by the Army.

“He is a hero,” they said. “He first was a man of God. He has been a strong leader at Mayville High School, at Evangel University and to the men in his unit. David had no fear of adversity; he lived life to the fullest. There are no regrets. He is an American hero. We love him very much and miss him very much.”

His father is the publisher of the Dodge County Pioneer. His university is holding memorials for him. He is survived by siblings Michael, Matthew and Emily.

Johnson was a platoon leader in the 3rd Brigade’s 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment. The Army’s marked its deployment with an article calling it a “kinetic mission” in the Taliban’s birthplace.

This was his first deployment. He was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.