PHOENIX – Governor Jan Brewer ordered flags at half-staff for the death of an Arizona soldier. Specialist Wyatt J. Martin of Mesa was killed on Friday, December 12 along with Sgt. 1st Class Ramon S. Morris of New York city. The pair died as a result of a homemade bomb in Parwan Province in Afghanistan.

Specialist Martin joined the Army in August of 2012. He was assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry in June 2014.

The proclamation of the governor reads:

I have ordered that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff from sunrise until sunset Monday, December 15, 2014, in honor of United States Army Specialist Wyatt J. Martin, 22, of Mesa, Arizona.

Specialist Martin died Friday, December 12, in Parwan Province, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. According to initial reports, Specialist Martin died of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.

He was assigned to A Company, 3rd Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Please join me in offering a prayer for Specialist Martin, for his loved ones, and for all the men and women who have risked and given their lives to preserve and protect freedom throughout the world.