Three Georgia soldiers were among the nine U.S. soldiers killed during an insurgent raid on a U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday. One of those deaths hit home on Wednesday.

The family of 27-year-old U.S. Army Cpl. Matthew Phillips, son of Michael Phillips of Dawsonville, learned on Wednesday that the Northeast Georgia soldier was killed during the worst fighting in three years involving U.S. soldiers.

Family members say Matthew Phillips spent Christmas planning his own funeral to make sure his family wouldn’t have anything to worry about in the event of his death.

Matthew Phillips is survived by his wife of two years, Eve Phillips. The couple lived in Forsyth County.
Cpl. Phillips was part of the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team based in Vicenza, Italy, according to the United State Army media release.

Fellow soldier, U.S. Army Cpl. Jonathan R. Ayers, 24, of Snellville, also was killed during the insurgent attack. Ayers, like Phillips, was just weeks away from a scheduled return home.