Spc. Issac L. Johnson, 24, of Columbus was one of four soldiers killed July 6 in Konduz, Afghanistan.

According to the Department of Defense, Johnson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 108th Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Squadron out of Rome. The 108th is based in Calhoun.

Johnson and three others died of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. Their remains arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday.

Also killed in the attack was another Georgia soldier, Sgt. Brock Henry Chavers Sr., 25, of Statesboro.

"The deaths of Sgt. Brock Henry Chavers Sr. and Spc. Isaac Lee Johnson Jr. are a devastating loss for the nation, the state, the Georgia Guard and most of all, the families of these fine men," said Maj. Gen. William T. Nesbitt, Georgia's Adjutant General.

Rome's Alpha Troop is in Afghanistan for a year. Their mission is to train the Afghan army and national police. Click here for a report and video from the send-off ceremony for the 108th

Gov. Sonny Perdue issued the following statement Wednesday evening:

"This past weekend, as hundreds of millions of Americans celebrated our nation's independence, our brave sons and daughters were halfway around the world still protecting that freedom. We learned today of the tragic loss of Georgia Guardsmen Sgt. Brock Chavers Sr. and Spc. Isaac Johnson Jr., yesterday in Afghanistan. We also learned over the weekend of the loss of Marine Lance Cpl. Seth Sharp, a Northwest Georgia native serving out of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Celebrating our independence also means remembering the long line of heroes that have laid down their lives so that our country and others around the world can enjoy freedom. Mary and I encourage all Georgians to join us in praying for their families."

Click here to read "Guardsman from Columbus killed Monday in IED attack in Afghanistan" from the Columbus Ledger Enquirer

Johnson is the fifth serviceman with local ties to die in Afghanistan or Iraq since May.

Lance Cpl. Seth Sharp, 20, a Marine from Adairsville was killed last week in Afghanistan. He was serving in Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines.

Jeffrey Jordan of Cave Spring, 21, was killed in Afghanistan in June. He was part of the Calhoun-based 108th Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Squadron, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Georgia Army National Guard.

Also in June, 1st. Sgt. John Blair of Calhoun, 38, died in Mado Zayi, Afghanistan, when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle. He was an Army National Guardsman assigned to the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment out of Lawrenceville.

Pvt. Thomas “Tommy” Lee III of Dalton, 20, died in May after an explosive device struck his vehicle while he was on patrol in Mosul, Iraq. He was assigned to the Army's 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.