It was a knock on the door Gary Waters hoped would never come.
Two military men told him that his son, Pfc. James Waters, 21, died in Afghanistan on Friday.
He was killed when a roadside bomb planted by insurgents exploded.
Waters joined the Army in September 2009 and was deployed to Afghanistan in March.
"You aren't prepared. I believed it wouldn't come, " said Waters. "But it did come. I love my son. I'm proud of my son."
The Waters are a close family and "Jimmy" was remembered as a good kid.
"I would call him a silent leader, " his dad said. "He didn't like it if a kid was being made fun of or picked on."
His sense of integrity didn't change when he joined the service.
His mother, Valerie, received calls from him.
"It was important to him. He didn't like how women there were being treated. He wanted to help, " she said.
But he was also known as a bit of a troublemaker.
"He used to bring kids to the house. They'd tear up the house and it would give me gray hair." said his dad.
James Waters leaves behind three brothers, two who are in the Army, and a sister.
He also leaves behind a fiance', who he last spoke with the day before he died.
His dad, Gary, also talked to him that day. He's thankful that he told him how he felt.
"I told him I loved him. "
A funeral service is being arranged at Whiteland High School within the next few days.
