A Joint Base Lewis-McChord lieutenant was killed Wednesday by an explosion during a foot patrol he led in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province.

Lt. David Johnson, 24, deployed to Afghanistan last month with 2,500 soldiers in Lewis-McChord’s 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

His death was the first casualty for the brigade on this deployment, the Stryker unit’s first to Afghanistan after three trips to Iraq in the past decade.

Johnson was on his first deployment. He was well-loved at the small Christian university he attended in Missouri and by friends and family in Wisconsin. Evangel University in Springfield, Mo., held a memorial for him Thursday as news spread of his death.

“Our entire community joins David’s family in mourning the loss of this outstanding young man who distinguished himself as a student and as a campus leader,” Evangel President Robert Spence said in announcing Johnson’s death to students.

The soldier leaves behind his parents and three siblings.

“We are very proud of our son,” his parents, Andrew and Laura Johnson, said in a written statement released by the Army. They remembered him as a Christian and a leader from his time at Mayville High School in Wisconsin through his commission as an officer.

“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.”

Johnson graduated from Evangel with a bachelor of science degree in 2010. He was commissioned in the Army that year through ROTC and joined the 3rd Brigade last August as the unit prepared for its deployment.

“David was an outstanding cadet in every aspect of military training,” retired Lt. Col. Kirby Hanson wrote in a letter for the school.

“He was destined to serve in the Infantry and I was certain he would excel,” wrote Hanson, who was Johnson’s ROTC commander in Springfield. Johnson was a platoon leader in the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment. The battalion is in the early stages of its work in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban and the site of more than 30 deaths from another Lewis-McChord Stryker brigade in 2009-10.

Nine Lewis-McChord soldiers died in Afghanistan last year. Two have fallen in combat there this month.

Most of those casualties were Special Operations or Special Forces soldiers. The base has had most of its ground infantry troops at home the past 11/2 years.

Johnson was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

Adam Ashton: 253-597-8646 adam.ashton@ thenewstribune.com