The Pentagon says a soldier from Loudoun County, Va., has been killed in Afghanistan.

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Twenty-three-year-old Spc. Douglas J. Green of Sterling, Va., died Sunday in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire.

Green was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

He grew up in Sterling and was well-known as a friendly, helpful neighbor and student.

"He was the kind of young man you hope your children grow up to be," said Karen Tettelbach, Green's next-door neighbor for several years.

In tears, she said she took the news of Green's death while serving in Afghanistan very hard.

"He is exactly the kind of person who serves our country, selfless, giving and positive,” Tettelbach said.

Green's family has been notified of his death.

The Potomac Falls High School 2006 yearbook - the year of his high school graduation - his image fills page after page.

“He was always that kid in the crowd who was most dressed up for spirit day, most enthusiastic,” said Janice Koslowski, principal of Potomac Falls High School.

Renee Haynes is Potomac Falls drama teacher. Green was her student for four years. She says he was the class clown but a leader with a compassionate heart.

“He loved the military,” she said. “He loved serving his country. He felt like it was what he was called to do.”

In high school, his classmates voted Green mostly likely to stay forever young.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.