SOUTH PORTLAND — A soldier killed in Afghanistan last weekend is not from South Portland, as was widely reported.
Army Sgt. Joshua J. Kirk was one of eight soldiers killed when a remote base in a mountainous valley came under attack on Saturday, Oct. 3.
Kirk’s last known address before enlisting in the military in 2005 was in South Portland, where he studied construction technology at Southern Maine Community College. He was enrolled at SMCC from 2004-2005, according to the SMCC admissions office.
Kirk was born in Thomaston, but moved to Idaho when he was 5. South Portland school officials could not find any record of Kirk attending public schools prior to 2004.
Three residents of South Portland have been killed in the military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Marine Lance Cpl. Angel Rosa, 21, and U.S. Army Sgt. Jason Swiger, 24, both graduates of South Portland High School, were killed by roadside bombs in Iraq within two weeks of each in late March 2007. Another SPHS graduate, Army Spc. Justin Buxbaum, 23, died in May, 2008 as the result of a noncombat gunshot wound.
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