WMAZ 13 -- A Central Georgia family mourns after a 23-year-old airman from Macon died in Iraq.

Airman First Class Jason D. Nathan died in Tikrit from combat injuries. Nathan served in the Air Force for more than two and a half years.

According to Nathan's mother, Phyllis Nathan, the Air Force sent her son to Iraq in February.

Before Iraq, the Air Force stationed Nathan at the Lakenheath base in England, where they named him soldier of the year, according to Phyllis Nathan.

Before joining the Air Force, Nathan attended Fort Valley State University. He graduated from Central High School in Macon in 2004.

Nathan comes from a family that has served both in the air force and the army.

His dad retired after 22 years in the army.

Nathan was born in Germany. The family then moved to California and Georgia.

Phyllis Nathan told WMAZ she doesn't know when the family will be able to hold a funeral for her son.