A soldier from New Portland who was killed in Afghanistan on Monday died from wounds he suffered when insurgents attacked with small-arms fire.

Details about the death of Spc. Andrew Hutchins, 20, were released by the U.S. Department of Defense late Tuesday.

Hutchins was on tower duty in Khost Province in eastern Afghanistan, near Pakistan, according to the release.

The Army said Hutchins is survived by his wife, Heather, of Clarksville, Tenn., who is expecting their first child. She is now staying with her mother, who lives in Solon. Hutchins’ father, Jeffrey, lives in Leeds and his mother, Robin Poulin, lives in Waltham.

The 2008 Carrabec High School graduate was a military policeman assigned to the 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, based in Fort Campbell, Ky.”On the eve of Veterans Day, we mourn the loss of a great soldier who was fulfilling his obligation to his country,” said Rick Rzepka, media relations officer for Fort Campbell, on Wednesday.

The high school is collecting donations for Hutchins’ family, particularly his wife. Heather and Andrew Hutchins were high school sweethearts, according to the school’s staff.

Heather is “just overcome,” said the school’s guidance director, Diane Starr, on Wednesday. “We’re trying to not bother her but at the same time trying to get something together for her.”

Because Hutchins graduated in 2008, not many current students were close to him. “It’s the staff actually that’s hurting more,” Starr said.

 

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