Local soldier killed in Afghanistan

BONNERS FERRY — Army Spc. Ethan J. Martin, 22, “was a loving young man with a tender heart,” wrote his family in a statement. “He loved Idaho and he loved to hunt and fish.”

Martin, 22, of Lewiston, died Aug. 7 in Koragay, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered small-arms fire. Three other American soldiers also were injured in the attack.

Martin was involved in Operation Enduring Freedom, according to a Aug. 9 Department of Defense press release.

Flags on state buildings throughout Idaho will be flown at half staff on Saturday to honor Martin and Anne Veseth, a 20-year-old Moscow woman who died while fighting fire on Sunday, Aug. 12, near Orofino, according to the Associated Press.

The family had to wait to plan services for Martin until the military released his body pending an investigation into his death.

A motorcade with Martin’s body is expected to pass through Bonners Ferry at about 11:30 a.m. Friday if people want to pay their respects to he and his family, according to a press release from Col. Tim Marsano, a public affairs officer with the Idaho National Guard.

The best place to pay your respects will be near the Boundary County Middle School. The time of the motorcade’s arrival is approximate.

While Martin’s family requested privacy, including no contact by reporters, their statement pays tribute to him.

In it they write he planned to attend nursing school after leaving the U.S. Army.

Martin “leaves behind a loving family and many friends in Bonners Ferry and northern Idaho,” including his father Harv (Pam) Martin of Bonners Ferry; mother Kristie (Bob) Suprenant of Lewiston; his sister, Nichelle Gau, four stepsisters and three stepbrothers, plus his grandparents, Harvey (Gail) Martin of Quartzside, Ariz., Paulette Marcy of Sandpoint and Fran Oakes of Lewiston.

He was preceded in death by grandfathers, Leroy Oakes and Ron Marcy.

“He will be greatly missed by his family and his friends,” the statement said.

The DOD news release lists Martin’s home of record as Lewiston, although according to his family, the vast majority of his life was spent in Bonners Ferry.

While Martin was an active-duty U.S. Army soldier and not an National Guard member, the Idaho National Guard is providing various services to his family, including public affairs assistance.

“He was a nice boy, he worked hard and was caring,” said Pat Stewart, one of Martin’s sixth-grade teachers in Bonners Ferry,

“I was so pleased to hear he planned to go to nursing school. My heart goes out to his family,” she said.

Martin was assigned to First Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, Fourth Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

It is the only airborne brigade combat team in the Pacific Theater.

The Fourth Brigade Combat Team is the newest airborne brigade combat team and one of only six in the United States Army, according to Wikipedia.