WEATHERFORD —
A 21-year-old Weatherford man, a U.S. Navy sailor, was killed Tuesday in Afghanistan during an improvised explosive device attack on his unit.
Clayton R. Beauchamp died Tuesday when enemy forces attacked with an IED as his unit conducted a dismounted patrol in the Shaban District of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense.
Beauchamp, a medic and 2009 Weatherford High School graduate, signed up with the Navy while still in high school. He was on his first deployment, which began earlier this summer, according to his aunt, Susan Brooke.
“He loved his country,” Brooke said. “He wanted to have a good life and fight for his country and help others.”
Beauchamp’s mother and father were at Dover Air Force base in Delaware Thursday afternoon to receive their son’s body, accompanied home by his brother, also serving in Afghanistan, Brooke said.
Beauchamp also has a younger sister who followed him into the Navy and is currently stationed in Virginia.
“He was always the one having fun, making everyone else have fun,” Brooke remembers about her nephew. “He pretty much was the life of the party.”
Weatherford High School English teacher Christine Goss also remembered Beauchamp as a former student in her classroom.
“Clayton was a kind and courteous young man with a lightning-fast grin,” Goss said. “He typically was pretty quiet during class discussions, but when that grin flashed, everyone knew he had something interesting and fun to say.”
Read more in the Democrat Friday, including how you can donate to a memorial fund.
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Weatherford sailor killed in Afghanistan
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