Dana Hills High Grad Killed In Afghanistan

A soldier who grew up in Dana Point and graduated from Dana Hills High was among five U.S. Army troops killed Saturday in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Spc. Brandon Joseph Prescott, 24, was fatally wounded when the patrol vehicle that he and his fellow soldiers were riding in was hit by an improvised explosive device in the Maiwand region of Kandahar, OregonLive.com reported.

Prescott had been living in Bend, Oregon, and had recently re-enlisted. He graduated from Dana Hills High in 2006. Two years later, he relocated with his mother and brothers to Bend. He joined the Army in 2010.

"He was a hero and an inspiration for all of us," his brother Aaron told OregonLive. "Before he left for Afghanistan, he told us that if he died, he wanted us to be proud of him and hold our heads up because we know he was doing something he loved."

Others killed were 1st Lt. Brandon J. Landrum, 26, of Oklahoma; Staff Sgt. Francis G. Phillips IV, 28, of New York; Spc. Kevin Cardoza, 19, of Texas; and Spc. Thomas P. Murach, 22, of Idaho.