First coalition combat death of 2014 identified as American soldier

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Sad news, via Stars & Stripes:

The Department of Defense identified a 38-year-old U.S. soldier based at Fort Knox as the servicemember killed by an insurgent attack Saturday in eastern Afghanistan.

Sgt. 1st Class William K. Lacey died from injuries received during a rocket-propelled grenade attack in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, according to the DOD release. His death marks the first combat loss of 2014 for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. ...

Lacey, from Laurel, Fla., was a vehicle mechanic assigned to the 201st Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Knox.

“He was brave beyond brave,” his father, John Lacey, said to the Northwest Florida Daily News. “He was out there in the middle of nowhere, in hell, and he kept doing it over and over and over ... I’m just so proud of him.”

This was his fifth deployment overall and second in Afghanistan, according to Fort Knox public affairs.