Soldier From Keota, Oklahoma Killed In Afghanistan

Staff and Wire Reports

FORT SMITH, AR --  A soldier from Keota, Oklahoma has died in Afghanistan. 

The Defense Department says Army Sergeant Vincent L. C. Owens died Monday at Forward Operating Base Sharana. He was 21.

Owens was wounded Monday when enemy forces fired on his vehicle in Yosuf Khel. Owens was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, KY.

Forward Operating Base Sharana is in eastern Afghanistan. The base is a center for infrastructure development and construction projects the U.S. conducts.

The U.S. Army lists his home as Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Owens' mother and uncle live in the Keota-Spiro area.

Officials say Owens' body is scheduled to be returned to Fort Smith over the weekend. Burial will be in the Fort Smith National Cemetery.