From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeighA Kentucky National Guardsman on his first overseas deployment has been killed in Afghanistan. In May, 27-year old Specialist Daniel Wallace (right) of Dry Ridge deployed to Afghanistan with a Kentucky National Guard engineering unit.On Friday, while the unit was clearing roadside bombs, Wallace died in a firefight with Taliban attackers. His brother Alex also serves in the Guard, as a medic.“I’m going to keep carrying on. I know he wants me to serve my full time, which is what I’m going to do. I’m going to do what I promised him. I’m going to make a career out of the military,” Alex Wallace said.Daniel Wallace, who was posthumously promoted to sergeant, was the third Kentucky Guard soldier to die in Afghanistan. He leaves behind his parents, two brothers, a sister and a six-year old son. He is the 17th Kentucky National Guard soldier to die in a combat zone in southwest Asia since 2001.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.