Those are just a few of the words former Mount Pulaski resident James White used to describe his 19-year-old son, Jim Jr., "J.P.," killed Aug. 11 in Afghanistan.

Among his survivors are grandparents in Mount Pulaski and Chestnut.

White, an Army private first class, of Huber Heights, was one of three soldiers killed when his platoon was attacked in northeastern Afghanistan last week. He was a member of the First Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, Third Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, N.Y., near Watertown, Ohio.

White was a 2005 graduate of Wayne High School in Huber Heights, where he had been a member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

James White said Monday he learned of his son's death last Friday afternoon.

"We didn't know what to do," White said. "We didn't want to call our parents and tell them over the phone." So the family made the more than four-hour drive to Mount Pulaski, from where they moved 10 years ago, to break the news to relatives there.

"It was a long ride to be driving and crying," White said. "He was a wonderful kid. Very well behaved and well respected with people. Quiet."

Just before his 18th birthday, James Jr. told his father he was ready to enlist in the military.

"We talked it over. I asked him if he was sure that is was what he wanted," White said. "He was sure."

Last July, his son shipped out for boot camp at Fort Drum in New York. In March, his platoon was deployed to Afghanistan. The family last saw him in June. He came home for his twin sister April's graduation. He left on Father's Day.

"He never feared going back," James White said. "He just told me he was doing his job. He was proud to serve his country. I believe that he's a great hero."

Aside from his father and twin sister, White is survived by his mother Robin and sister Denise of Huber Heights and grandparents John and Janet White of Mount Pulaski and Ron and Amy Phipps of Chestnut.

Ron and Amy Phipps said they would head to Ohio this weekend to attend services. A memorial service in Mount Pulaski at a later date is being considered.

"He didn't show any fear at all," said Ron Phipps, retired after a career in the military and who hails from a family with several generations of veterans. "It was just kind of a blow to me. I really haven't accepted it yet.

"I've been around this all my life. I'm used to it. But I never thought it would come this close."

Amy Phipps said today her grandson was "very loving ... very giving," and leaves many area friends and family.

"He felt he had to protect his family by going over there to keep terrorists from his parents and grandparents. He was here New Year's."

Also killed during the Aug. 11 attack were 19-year-old Army Pfc. Andrew Small of Wicasset, Maine, and 26-year-old Army Spc. Rogelio Garza Jr. of Corpus Christi, Texas.

White is the second soldier with Logan County connections to die in the Mid East.

Army Staff Sergeant Daniel G. Gresham, 23, of Lincoln died in February 2005 in Iraq when an explosive device detonated.

White's funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Marker & Heller Funeral Home in Huber Heights, with the Rev. Darrell Perry officiating. Burial will be in Dayton National Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Memorials may be made to Wayne High School ROTC at Wayne H.S. AFJROTC, 5400 Chambersburg Road, Huber Heights, Ohio 45424.

Lisa Bernard of Dayton Daily News contributed to this report.