Wichita ? A soldier from Wichita was killed in a weekend grenade explosion while serving as a gunner on a Humvee in Iraq, his mother said.

Pfc. Chad Marsh, 20, is the third Wichita man to have died in Iraq or Afghanistan. His mother, Janet Marsh, told The Wichita Eagle she was informed of her son’s death Saturday.

The soldier’s unit was conducting a combat patrol when a grenade was thrown at his vehicle by an insurgent, his mother said. The shrapnel wounded him in the back of the neck and left arm and he died about an hour later, Janet Marsh said.

The U.S. Department of Defense had not yet confirmed Chad Marsh’s death as of Monday morning.

“He was helpful; he loved to help,” Janet Marsh said. “That’s why he was over there. He wanted to help.”

Janet Marsh said her son became interested in military service when he joined the Junior ROTC program in middle school. He joined the Army while he was still a student at Northwest High School.

He went to Iraq around September of last year.