Army Sgt. Thomas J. Butler IV

Died October 1, 2012 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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25, of Wilmington, N.C.; assigned to 514th Military Police Company, 60th Troop Command, Winterville, N.C.; died Oct.1, in Khost, Afghanistan, of injuries caused by a suicide bomber. Also killed were Army Sgt. Jeremy F. Hardison, 23, of Maysville, N.C., and Army Sgt. Donna R. Johnson, 29, of Raeford, N.C.

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Soldier killed in Afghanistan to be buried

The Associated Press

WILMINGTON, N.C. — A funeral will be held for a member of the North Carolina National Guard killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Thomas J. Butler IV of Leland is scheduled to be buried Friday at the Wilmington National Cemetery. The internment will follow a funeral service at the city's First Baptist Church.

The 25-year-old soldier was killed Oct. 1 with two other members of the Winterville-based 514th Military Police Company when a Taliban suicide bomber rammed a motorcycle packed with explosives into a joint U.S.-Afghan patrol in Khost, Afghanistan.

Butler joined the Guard in 2007 and was on his first combat deployment.

A funeral service for Staff Sgt. Donna R. Johnson of Raeford is scheduled for Saturday. Sgt. Jeremy F. Hardison of Browns Summit was buried Thursday. Both also were killed in the incident.