Dayton Daily News -- CLAYTON | Adam "A.J." Johnson — a 2001 graduate of Northmont High School and member of the Army's 101st Airborne Division — was killed in Iraq, his father said Tuesday.

The 22-year-old private had been in Iraq only about five weeks. His death was the 13th from the Miami Valley since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003.

Randy Johnson of Clayton said two Army chaplains notified him at his home Monday night.

A.J.'s mother, Fran Johnson, lives in Brookville.

"All they said was he was in a Humvee on patrol and it went over an improvised bomb," somewhere near Baghdad, Johnson said.

According to division headquarters at Fort Campbell, Ky., Johnson and three other soldiers died Monday in Baghdad from injuries suffered "while conducting a patrol near Al Mahmudiyah," spokeswoman Kelly Tyler said.

The soldiers were infantrymen assigned to A Company, 2nd

Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. They were identified as Sgt. First Class Jonathan Tessar, 35 of Simi Valley, Calif.; Spec. William J. Byler, 23 of Ballinger, Texas; Pfc. David J. Martin, 21 of Edmond, Okla., and Johnson.

A former goalie for Northmont's soccer team, he joined the military last November. Then he told his father he had signed up.

"He didn't want me to talk him out of it," he said. "He said it was something he always wanted to do."

Johnson said he is proud of his son, known for an ever-present smile and positive attitude, and for his time on the soccer field, where he had an outstanding senior season at Northmont.

He not only earned the job as starting goalkeeper, but also was named goalie of the year and overall player of the year in the Greater Miami Valley Conference. He was a first-team pick on the Miami Valley Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association All-Area team.

After graduation, he became a volunteer assistant coach for the high school soccer program, a position he held for two years.

"This is really tough for me personally because I watched A.J. grow up in our program," Northmont head soccer coach Mark Spirk said Tuesday.

"He had helped out every year at our Northmont soccer camp, working with the younger kids," he said. "He worked hard at that just like he had as a player."

Robin Spiller, the district's athletic director and an assistant principal at the high school, said Johnson is the first graduate killed in Iraq.

On Tuesday, she took steps to have his name added to a memorial outside the high school stadium of the community's fallen servicemen from past wars.

"It's impacted us all," she said. "It's a very silent day."

A moment of silence will be held this morning at the high school, where Johnson's brother, Ryan, 15, is a student. Johnson is survived by two other brothers, Matthew, 26, of Troy, and Brad, 24, of Brookville.

Memorial services for the soldiers will be in Iraq, Tyler said.

October marked the bloodiest month for American troops since January. The U.S. military reported Monday that seven service members were killed — all victims of bombs.

Randy Johnson said he would like to see a resolution to the war.

"I don't want to trivialize his life by saying it's wrong," he said. "I'm just saying it's time to find solutions."