LHS Graduate Killed by Suicide Bomb in Afghanistan

Update: The U.S. Department of Defense has put out the following official release.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Maj. Walter D. Gray, 38, of Conyers, Ga., died Aug. 8 from injuries suffered during a suicide bomb attack in Kunar province, Afghanistan. Gray was assigned to the 13th Air Support Operations Squadron, Fort Carson, Colo.

Condolences are streaming in on the Facebook page of Maj. W. David Gray,  a member of the USAF killed in action in Afghanistan. The Public Affairs Office out of Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. has confirmed that Maj. Walter D. Gray, 38, was KIA in Afghanistan on Aug. 8, 2012 as a result of a suicide bomb. According to the Public Affairs office out of Peterson Air Force Base, Gray was attached to Moody Air Force Base out of Georgia.

Patch columnist, Jeff Allen, a former classmate of Gray, said he heard the news last night, but was unable to officially confirm it at the time. This morning, Gray’s facebook page lit up as condolences began pouring in from all over the country, including from many of Gray’s former classmates from . He was known to his friends by his middle name, David.

Allen wrote on his Facebook page, “Bad news out of Afghanistan this morning. Looks like Loganville might have lost one of its finest sons to a coward with an IED. Please pray for the family of USAF Maj. David Gray.”

On his Facebook page, Gray lists his hometown as Loganville, Ga. The military has his home listed as Conyers, Ga. Gray leaves a wife and three young children.

Carolyn Feldkamp Woods, another of Gray’s LHS classmates, wrote the following prayer on Gray's Facebook page:

Dear Lord, Thank you for our men and women in our US troops serving our country! Please reward the ones that are with you, that have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and peace. Lord, Please comfort the family and friends of David Gray today so that they may know that he is with you! Give them love and peace for their loss here. I ask one thing - that his wife, Heather, and their 3 children be loved, cared for, and to surround them with love and heavenly angels of peace. Thank you Lord for allowing those who knew David to have the time with such a wonderful, spirited man for the time that we had with him. Bless his family now and until they meet again.
In YOUR Heavenly Name - Amen
LHS - Class of 1992 thankful for a member of our class, remembering him today - W. David Gray

Gray is the second LHS graduate to die in action. In 2005, Sgt. Michael Stokely was killed by an IED in Iraq.

Patch will follow-up as more information becomes available.