War in Afghanistan takes heavy toll in NE Ohio, W. Pa. in recent days

Staff and wire report

The war in Afghanistan has taken a heavy toll on soldiers from northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania in recent days, with three men from the region killed in action.

The U.S. Department of Defense said Sunday night that a Northeast Ohio soldier based at Kansas’ Fort Riley has died in combat in Afghanistan.

The military said 22-year-old Spc. Adam S. Hamilton of Kent, Ohio, died Saturday in Haji Ruf, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with a bomb.

Hamilton was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 4th Calvary Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley.

On Thursday, a New Castle, Pa., man and a Wayne County man in Northeast Ohio were killed in action.

The DOD reported Sunday that 29-year-old Staff Sgt. Edward Mills Jr. of New Castle and five others died Thursday of wounds following an attack in Kandahar province.

Also killed in that attack with an improvised explosive device was 27-year-old 1st Lt. John M. Runkle of West Salem, Ohio, in Wayne County near Wooster.