Army Sgt. 1st Class Andrew T. Weathers

Died September 30, 2014 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

30, of DeRidder, Louisiana; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; died Sept. 30 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, from wounds caused by small-arms fire Sept. 28 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Fallen soldier to be memorialized in DeRidder

(Alexandria, La.) Town Talk staff

A soldier killed in September during fighting in Afghanistan will be honored with a granite memorial in West Park in DeRidder.

Sgt. 1st Class Andrew T. Weathers died Sept. 30 from wounds he suffered two days earlier when his team came under small-arms fire in Afghanistan. His father, Mike Weathers of Pollock, said Weathers will be awarded the Silver Star.

Weathers attended school in DeRidder.

Friends of Weathers have raised nearly $5,000 for a black, polished, granite column with a bronze plaque engraved with Weathers' name and the mottoes of the special forces and his unit.

Reagan Pope, one of the organizers for the memorial, says Weathers was loved in the community and that his friends wanted to ensure he wasn't forgotten.