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Minn. guardsman killed in Afghanistan

MINNEAPOLIS — The Defense Department has announced the death of a soldier in Afghanistan.

The Pentagon says Spc. George W. Cauley, 24, of Walker died Saturday in Bagram. He was wounded when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device Oct. 7 in Helmand province.

Cauley was assigned to the 114th Truck Company of the Minnesota Army National Guard in Duluth.

Cauley graduated from Northland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team. He got along with everybody and always had a smile on his face, Principal Joe Akre said Tuesday.

Standing about 5 feet 3 inches tall, Cauley “wasn’t exactly the biggest guy out there,” football coach Shem Daugherty said.

“But he had heart. He wasn’t afraid to go out and try to hit,” Daugherty said. “He was one of those likable young men you enjoyed having around because he was always there for the right reasons.”

Daugherty said that after graduation, Cauley came back in uniform and “was pretty darn proud. You could see it in his face.” Daugherty said Cauley also had served in Iraq.