Utah Guard officer slain in Afghanistan

A memorial fund has been created for the family of 2nd Lt. Scott B. Lundell, a Utah National Guard soldier who was killed in a firefight Saturday in Afghanistan. The fund is called the "Scott Lundell Memorial Trust Fund," and donations may be made at any Mountain America Credit Union.

Utah National Guard 2nd Lt. Scott B. Lundell, 35, was killed Saturday afternoon during a firefight in Afghanistan, Guard officials said Tuesday.

Lundell, who was from West Valley City, joined the Guard in 2004. He was deployed to Afghanistan last June with the 1st Corps Artillery, which uses small "embedded training teams" to help train and support the Afghan National Army.

Gen. Patrick Wilson, commander of the 1st Corps Artillery, returned recently from a visit to the unit in Afghanistan, and he described Lundell as an "upbeat, gung-ho soldier."

Lundell was a 1990 graduate of Granger High School, where he was student-body president his senior year. He also lettered in football at Granger. He later served a mission in the Philippines for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Terry Bawden, Lundell's LDS seminary teacher during high school, described Lundell as an outgoing young man who married his high school sweetheart.

"Even though he was very popular and a great athlete, he was friendly to everyone," Bawden said. "He was always kind to everyone he knew."

Former Granger High football coach Mike Fraser described Lundell as a "tenacious" football player and an outstanding young man.

"This is heartbreaking," Fraser said. "I'm sick about it, but I'm real proud of him. He was a very, very loving kid off the football field. He cared a lot about other people — always willing to serve other people."

Lundell's unit in Afghanistan consists of about 140 soldiers, and more than 100 are from Utah.

"We know that what we do is dangerous and bears with it many costs — and this is a tremendous cost," Wilson said about Lundell's death. "The troops face a multitude of concerns and issues."

Brig. Gen. Bruce C. Frandsen, assistant adjutant general for the Utah Guard, called Lundell's death a "tragedy" that strikes close to home.

Guard officials declined to release detailed information on how Lundell died or about his family, other than to say that he has a wife and children. The Department of Defense said Lundell died of injuries he sustained during an attack with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades while on patrol in the Oruzgan Province.

Family members had been notified by Tuesday but were not ready to comment on Lundell's death. Wilson was expected to meet with Lundell's immediate family Tuesday afternoon.

"Our hearts go out to the Lundell family," he said.