Staff Sgt. Matthew N. Ingham

Staff Sgt. Matthew N. Ingham, 25, of Altoona, Pa. died Jan.11 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan: Ingham was assigned to 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

According to accounts from Helmand province, Staff Sgt. Matthew N. Ingham, 25, weathered gunfire to radio for air support for his comrades, who were under attack. Sgt. Ingham and two others died. His bravery saved 12 others. Sgt. Ingham, a 2002 graduate of Altoona High School, was assigned to the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan, according to the Defense Department. He was sent to Afghanistan in the fall, his mother-in-law said. "Loyal beyond belief. Disciplined. Hardworking. Goal-oriented," she described him. "But fun-loving." An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed hiking, kayaking and camping, and romping with the couple's two chocolate Labs, said Ms. Rajpar, a librarian at Mount Aloysius College in Cambria County. He loved to ride his dirt bike, and was spotted in Japan by members of a professional racing team who recruited him to take part in a motocross event, she said. He finished second.Matt met Yasmin while the two were eighth-graders at Keith Junior High School in Altoona. Yasmin earned a degree at Duquesne University in 2006 and the couple lived for a time in Virginia before leaving for Okinawa in 2008. Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10015/1028395-455.stm#ixzz0ciWEVLyJ