A memorial service was held Wednesday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for a New Carlisle soldier who was killed Dec. 10 in Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Wesley R. Williams, 25, a member of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, was killed by an improvised explosive device.

His parents, Lars and Linda Williams, are lifelong residents of Park Layne.

The 2005 graduate of Tecumseh High School leaves behind a wife and a 1-year-old daughter. His wife, fellow Tecumseh graduate Krista Williams, is due in July with their second child. He also leaves behind a brother and two sisters.

A veteran of two tours in Iraq, Williams deployed Nov. 15 to Afghanistan as a squad leader with the Army’s 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which is based at Lewis-McChord.

Wes Williams was born to be a soldier. He was, after all, born on an Army base.

Lars Williams was stationed at Fort Hood in Texas at the time, wrapping up his three-year Army commitment and upholding the family legacy of military service.

Last summer the family buried Lars Williams’ dad, an 87-year-old veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.