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Lance Corporal Alberto Francesconi, 21, was killed New Year's Day while fighting in Helmand province.

His brother says Francesconi's unit was ambushed, and he stepped on a land mine as he was running for cover.

"We didn't quite believe it. We thought it was a rumor," said Francesconi's brother Robert Rivera. "But once they walked in the door, it was pretty much confirmation of it. And it turned from celebrating the New Year into a disaster."

"He was a family-oriented person, a very hard worker. He wanted the very best for himself and everyone else for the future," said his widow, Cynthia Francesconi. "It's hard to think of everything coming in the future without him being in it."

Francesconi was assigned to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

The governor has ordered that all flags be flown at half-staff this Friday in his honor.