The small town of Waterville Valley is reeling from the death of another local service member. Army Pfc. Marc Paul Decoteau was killed in action in Afghanistan on Friday, according to military officials. Decoteau was stationed in Afghanistan as part of a Psychological Operations unit based out of Fort Bragg, N.C., Maj. Greg Heilshorn of the New Hampshire National Guard told the New Hampshire Union Leader.

His remains were to return today at Dover, Del., Air Force Base, military officials said. Decoteau was the son of Mark and Nancy Decoteau of Waterville Valley. He enlisted in the Army after his graduation in 2008 from Plymouth Regional High School.

Decoteau is the 31st New Hampshire resident to die since 2003 while serving in the military in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Four years ago, the Waterville Valley area suffered another war loss when Army Capt. Doug DiCenzo, another Plymouth Regional graduate, was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. Decoteau was an outstanding student-athlete at Plymouth Regional High School, where his football coach, Chuck Lenahan, said he was "as good as they come."

"He was there every day at practice, doing anything he could to benefit the team," Lenahan said. "He was one of those kids who never got in trouble. Everyone liked him." Close family friend Bill Dauer of Plymouth, whose son, Spencer, played football with Marc Decoteau, said grief has hit the community "like a ton of bricks."

"It's been very devastating and traumatic," said Dauer, who attended the U.S. Military Academy in the early 1980s with Decoteau's father, Mark. Mark Decoteau, the soldier's father, is town manager in Waterville Valley, which has about 300 year-round residents. The loss also is being felt in Warren, where Nancy Decoteau is town administrator.