The body of Army Specialist Michael Isaiah Nance was returned to the U.S. early Wednesday morning after the 24-year-old was killed in Afghanistan.
Nance was among two U.S. Paratroopers killed when an Afghan soldier opened fire on them Sunday at a military camp in the Uruzgan Province of Afghanistan, U.S. officials said.
The Department of Defense announced the deaths Monday saying the "combat related incident" is under investigation.
Nance's body arrived in Delaware early Wednesday morning and remains at the Dover military base.
The 24-year-old who grew up on Chicago's South Side before moving to the suburbs was stationed at Fort Bragg and had been deployed to Afghanistan two weeks ago.
"He begged his mom to join the Army," said cousin Trevor Harris. "It was an ongoing battle whether he had his mother's permission to join the Army. It was somehting he really, really desired."
Details on potential memorial services for Nance in the Chicago area were not immediately released.
