Hillsborough, N.C. — The family of a Fort Bragg-based soldier killed last week in Afghanistan described their loved one on Tuesday as incredibly patriotic.

Spc. Josiah "Joe" D. Crumpler, 27, of Hillsborough, died March 1 in Bala Murghab when insurgents attacked his unit using small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.

Joe Crumpler was due to return home in a few weeks. His father said the tragic news came after a late night knock on the door.

“As soon as I saw uniforms coming up at that time of night, I knew it was bad news of some sort,” father Dennis Crumpler said.

Crumpler was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. His brother said Joe hoped to make the Army a lifelong career.

“He had found a chance to really be maybe what he was meant to be,” brother John Crumpler said.

“He had just a remarkable sense of right and wrong,” Dennis Crumpler said of his son.

Joe Crumpler is survived by wife Shana and two children. He will be buried Wednesday with full military honors.

“It has been tough at times ... but the support has been overwhelming,” Dennis Crumpler said.