A U.S. Army Ranger was killed in action June 14 during combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Jeremy Andrew Katzenberger was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Hunter Army Airfield.

He was killed by direct fire from enemy forces during a heavy firefight while conducting combat operations in Paktika Province.

A native of Weatherby Lake, Mo., Katzenberger enlisted in the U.S. Army in October 2004. For more than six years, he served as a rifleman, automatic rifleman, team leader and Ranger squad leader in 1st Bn., 75th Ranger Regt.

The 75th Ranger Regt. continuously has been deployed to Afghanistan since October 2001.

Katzenberger previously served on four deployments to Iraq and this was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan.

Katzenberger is survived by his wife, Colleen A. (Montgomery) Katzenberger, and son, Everett James, both of Richmond Hill; and his parents, Robert and Peggy Katzenberger of Weatherby Lake, Mo.