Our Latest American Hero #67

buddyjhughie
Originally uploaded by Randuwa.

Army Sgt. Buddy J. Hughie, 25, of Poteau, Okla.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 180th Infantry, Oklahoma Army National Guard, Ada, Okla.; died Feb. 19 in Kamdesh, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.

"Oklahoma Soldier Killed In Afghanistan"

OKLAHOMA CITY— An Oklahoma Army National Guardsman from Poteau was shot and killed Feb. 19 in Afghanistan during a skirmish with enemy forces, the Oklahoma Military Department confirmed Feb. 20.

Sgt. Buddy Hughie, 25, and his unit were conducting a joint mission with the Afghan National Army and the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division in the country’s Nuristan province when the group came under enemy small-arms and rocket-propelled-grenade fire, the department said in a statement.

After two Afghan soldiers in the group were wounded, Hughie left his position to provide medical assistance when he was shot and killed, according to the statement.

“Sgt. Buddy Hughie was a great American,” said Lt. Col. Bobby Yandell, commander of the 1st Battalion, 180th Infantry. “Sgt. Hughie was one of those soldiers that you did not have to worry about; he always did the right thing. We mourn his loss, but celebrate the life of a great soldier.”

Hughie, who previously deployed to Afghanistan in 2002-2003, volunteered to return to the country, Yandell said.

The 180th deployed to Afghanistan last summer as part of a multinational task force whose mission is to train and mentor soldiers in the new Afghan National Army. Members of the 180th Infantry are providing security for the international coalition of trainers and the Afghan trainees.