ARMY Staff Sgt Jonathan P Schmidt 28, of Petersburg VA, died Sept 1, in Batur Village, Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense announced Tuesday that 28-year-old Staff Sgt. Jonathan P. Schmidt, was killed when his unit was attacked by small arms fire on Sept. 1 in Batur Village.

According to Virginia television station WWBT-TV, Schmidt was just weeks away from returning home. Schmidt attended Thomas Dale High School and leaves behind a wife and young son in North Carolina..

Schmidt was assigned to 192nd Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance Group, 20th Support Command at Fort Bragg. The 52nd Ordnance Group works to disarm and dispose of enemy explosives. The 20th Support Command specializes in chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high yield explosives and was activated Oct. 16, 2004. It is capable of handling all types of improvised explosive devices.