
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The four soldiers killed Sunday by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan were members of a Carolinas-based Army Reserve battalion, including a Mount Airy man who sought deployment to a combat zone, officials said Tuesday.
Sgt. Anton Hiett, 25, was among a group of soldiers clearing a route in eastern Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device went off, killing him and three others.
His widow, Misty Hiett, said in a telephone interview that Hiett asked to transfer to the 391st Engineering Battalion, which has companies based in Asheville and Spartanburg, S.C., when it looked like his reserve unit would not be deployed.
Also killed in the blast were Staff Sgt. Joe Ray, of Candler Spc. Joshua Hill of Fowlerton, Ind. and Sgt. Kevin Akins of Oglethorpe, Ga., said Maj. William Ritter of the 81st Regional Readiness Command in Birmingham,...