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U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan
 Sgt. Jason T. Palmerton was killed in a firefight early Sunday in Afghanistan. RELATED
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- A U.S. soldier died Sunday and a second was wounded when their unit was attacked by 15 to 20 suspected insurgents in southwestern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said. An interpreter employed by U.S. forces was also wounded in the attack, which occurred near Gereshk. U.S. and Afghan forces returned fire, killing one suspected insurgent and wounding two others. The others fled the scene shortly after attacking the patrol and were not found despite searches. The U.S. Army Special Operations Command identified the soldier who died as Sgt. Jason T. Palmerton, a 25-year-old communications sergeant, assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne). The wounded soldier, the interpreter and the two wounded suspected insurgents were transported to Kandahar Airfield for treatment. Their conditions were not known, the military said. According to the Army Special Operations Command, Palmerton was a native of Hamburg, Iowa, and enlisted in the Army on July 31, 2002, as an infantryman with the option to become a Special Forces soldier. He was sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to the 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne) in January 2003 to begin the training to become a Special Forces communications sergeant. Palmerton was assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group in February 2005 and deployed to Afghanistan in June 2005. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with V device, the Purple Heart, a Meritorious Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge. He is survived by his mother, Denise K. Brown of Auburn, Nebraska; father, Steve Palmerton; sisters Amanda and Beth; and his fiancee, Shelly. 
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