An Army sergeant from Henniker was killed Tuesday by hostile fire in the mountains of Afghanistan. Russell Durgin, 23, had been stationed in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum since March.

Durgin was fiercely committed to the Army and the people with whom he served, his family and friends said. But in recent months, at the start of his third year-long deployment, the war had begun to wear on him, they said.

The Associated Press reported that two coalition soldiers were killed in southern and eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday as troops continued the largest offensive there since 2001. The identities of those soldiers and the circumstances surrounding Durgin's death have not been released. Durgin will receive two medals of commendation. He is the fifth New Hampshire soldier to die in the last six weeks.

His girlfriend, Michele Dougherty, said Durgin was physically tired and talked often about getting a job as a state trooper and settling down with her.

"I just don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of my life now," Dougherty said yesterday, standing outside the family home in Henniker, where a "Welcome Home Russ" sign staked on the front lawn was painted over with the words "RIP" and "We love you."

Durgin had limited internet and phone access while in Afghanistan, although he was expected to call within a week. The silence, though anticipated, weighed on his family.

His mother, Jean Durgin, worried when either of her boys were deployed. Russ Durgin's twin brother, Sean, spent a summer in Qatar in 2004 with the Air Force. He recently transferred to Maryland's Air National Guard and is scheduled to return to Qatar next month.

Jean Durgin said she would sit up at night, listening for soldiers knocking on the door. About 10 p.m. on Tuesday, "they came," she said. They told her that the boy who "was born with a smile on his face" had been killed.

Russell Durgin was the mischievous one of the twins, his mom said. Classmates from John Stark may remember him dancing hula in drag at the Mr. John Stark pageant.

Friends at the Durgin home yesterday declined to offer many stories about him, saying most weren't printable. But they said Durgin's adventurous spirit, memory for quotes from Will Ferrell movies and wide smile made every moment spent with him a good one.

"He would make you (smile),"said friend Karl Serzans. "If you wouldn't, he would fight it out of you."

A military background

Like their three older half-siblings and their stepbrother, the twins were raised with an appreciation of country and of service, Jean Durgin said. Their father, Lester Durgin, was a Marine, and encouraged the boys - to the dismay of their mother - to go into the military.

Still, Jean Durgin said she was surprised when she came home one day during their junior year to find recruiters standing in her living room. Though she didn't want to, she signed papers allowing them to enlist at 17, the summer before their senior year.

Russ Durgin started training with a teammate from his lacrosse team bound for the Navy. Other teammates and friends say he encouraged them consider the military, too. The Monitor has interviewed the Durgins since early May as part of a story following eight John Stark lacrosse players who enlisted after high school.

Two weeks after graduation in spring 2001, Sean Durgin left for basic training with the Air Force. Russ Durgin would be home for the summer. He was activated Sept. 11.

He started military police training only to find himself bored a few weeks in. "I said, 'Boring is not bad, Russell,'" Jean Durgin said. "He said, 'No, I want action.'" He switched to infantry training. (next page »)