Phila. native, 26, killed by bomb in Afghanistan

Demetrius M. Frison was happy to hear the news that U.S. forces had killed Osama bin Laden, but the Philadelphia native told his wife that he "still had a job to do."

Frison, 26, an Army first lieutenant, was serving his first combat tour in Afghanistan when he was killed Tuesday by a bomb, said his wife, Mikki, 25.

His body is scheduled to arrive Thursday afternoon at Dover (Del.) Air Force Base. Funeral arrangements were pending, his wife said. They lived in near Fort Knox, Ky., where he was stationed.

The two met at Morris Leeds Middle School in the Stenton section of Northwest Philadelphia when they were 12, she said. He lived in Logan. She lived in West Oak Lane.

They became sweethearts in high school and married March 28, 2009. Their son, Christopher, was born Nov. 17.

He graduated from Parkway Northwest High School and received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Millersville University. His wife also graduated from Millersville with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

Demetrius Frison left for Afghanistan on Jan. 9.

His mother, Louella, 54, who still lives in Logan, described her son as "honorable" and "very religious."

He "lived by the rules and the standards of what was put before him," she said.

As a child, he played with toy soldiers, she recalled. "He always was a military person at heart," she said.

He was promoted to first lieutenant on April 10, his birthday. "He loved what he did," his wife said.

On his MySpace page, he listed his mother and grandmothers as his heroes. He also posed a question about whom he'd like to meet.

His response: "Me in 25 years, to see where I am at & change what I don't like about myself before it is too late."