Troy soldier dies in Afghanistan

TROY, Ohio (WDTN) - A soldier from Troy has died in Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Department of Defense announced Sunday 24-year-old Pfc. Jeffrey L. Rice of Troy died July 19 in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Rice was assigned to the 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

Defense Department officials have yet to release the details of how Rice died, but his memory will live on in the hearts of his family members and in the story told each year in one Troy classroom.

Anytime someone guarantees a 100 percent on a vocabulary quiz, Troy English teacher Jeff Owen will tell them the story of Rice and the crazy wager he made if he didn't get a perfect score.

"I said are willing to bet your precious mohawk?," Owen says. "He said, 'yeah I'm willing to bet it.' He stepped up."

Rice passed the quiz, but his score came up a little short of 100.

Although his mohawk hairdo did make the cut as it was shaved off in class.

"Every year we have a vocab quiz come along someone's not quite studying for in class and we'll tell the story," Owen says.

But that's the kind of guy Rice was. He'd pay on his bets with a smile on his face. For him honor wasn't a word but a way of life.

"He loved being a soldier," says Rice's aunt. "He wanted to be in the military ever since he was a kid."

That he died a soldier in Afghanistan is something his family is still coming to grips with.

His niece, aunt and sister spoke with 2 NEWS about what kind of person Rice was.

They say they'll remember him as the tough guy who wasn't so tough he couldn't show he cared.

"He may look scary but he's not," says Rice's niece. "He loved playing jokes on people. Loved to hang out and be with family and make everyone smile."

That's why the picture of Jeff they'll remember will be the one with the not-so-stylish specs.

"He broke his glasses before he came home so they gave him these military glasses," his niece says. "They're kind of goofy looking."

You can bet Rice's name will continue to come up in Owen's English class.

The lesson a little different now. Of a man who didn't get a 100 percent but always gave it.

"I hope 10 to 15 years from now I'm still telling the story," Owen says. "It has a sad ending now, but it'll help people appreciate what soldiers are willing to sacrifice so students have an opportunity to get an education and have great lives."

Funeral arrangements for Rice have not been set yet.