The family of a Cave Spring soldier who died Thursday in far-away Afghanistan spent their time Friday remembering their loved one — a young man described as both thoughtful and ambitious.

Spc. Jeffrey William Jordan, 21, Cave Spring, who served with the Calhoun-based 108th Cavalry, was one of three soldiers from the Georgia National Guard unit killed Thursday in Afghanistan.

“This is really a tragedy,” Barbara White, Jordan’s grandmother, said. “He was a terrific kid.”

The family was notified by the military on Thursday.

The other soldiers from the unit killed have been identified as Maj. Kevin M. Jenrette, 37, of Lula, and Staff Sgt. John C. Beale, 39, of Riverdale.

The men died near Kapisa, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device and small arms fire, according to the Department of Defense.

“He wasn’t afraid to go,” Jordan’s cousin Bill Fortenberry said. “He was confident in his own skills and in the skills of those who would be working with him. He had this goofy smile, it was pretty cool to see.”

This was his second tour, said Fortenberry, and his continued service to the military was a part of his overall plan to excel in life and provide for his wife, Lacey, and his son Tailor — who turned 1 on Thursday.

“In addition to serving for patriotism, it was a way for him to be a better person and to provide for his family and to use his skills and grow them so he could be a better person,” Fortenberry said.

Despite his youth, Jordan was centered and had a knack for all things mechanical. He was fixing small vehicle engines and bicycles early on and used these skills to get a job as a mechanic pretty early on, Fortenberry said.

Prior to shipping out Jordan was hired at the Floyd County Prison, said Warden Jeff Chandler.

Jordan’s remains will be sent to Delaware within the next day or two, White said, where a ceremony will be held.

She said she expected it to take more than a week for him to arrive back at his home in Floyd County.

An account has been established for Jordan’s son, Tailor, at Coosa Valley Federal Credit Union. Contributions to the Tailor Jordan Fund can be made at any branch of Coosa Valley Federal Credit Union.

“I know the families of these Guardsmen have broken hearts and though we can not comprehend the loss they are feeling, Mary and I join them in mourning,” Gov. Sonny Perdue said in a news release.

Jordan is the fourth person with Floyd County ties to die in either Afghanistan or Iraq.

 Sgt. William Allmon, 25, who was born and raised in Floyd County until age 12, died April 12, 2008, in Baghdad of wounds received when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.

 Richard Thomas Hickman, 52, a Cave Spring resident, was working for a private security contractor in January 2006 when he was killed in a roadside bomb attack in Iraq.

 >Justin Johnson, 22, who graduated from Armuchee High School in 2000, was killed in Iraq in April 2004 when a roadside bomb detonated as his Humvee passed in Baghdad.