AUGUSTA ? A south-central Kansas community is rallying to help the family of a Marine critically wounded in Afghanistan.

Twenty-three-year-old Sgt. Jonathon Blank of Augusta lost both legs this week to an improvised explosive device in southwest Afghanistan.

Blank is being treated at a hospital in Germany. His family expects he’ll return soon to the United States.

People attending an Augusta High School football game Thursday night donated about $900 to help the family with travel expenses. His father, Matthew Blank, says the family is “awestruck’ by the outpouring of support.