An Alexander High School alumnus was killed Thursday during a combat mission in Afghanistan.

Marine Lance Cpl. Scott Harper, 21, of Winston was operating in Helmand province as part of Operation Enduring Freedom when he suffered fatal injuries, the Defense Department announced Friday.

Harper served with the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, NC.

He was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, the 2nd Marine Division said in a press release Friday. He served with the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, from March to September 2010, then returned with his current unit in July.

An official Marine Corps article on the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, posted Friday, says Harper’s unit is part of Task Force Leatherneck, serving as the ground combat element in counterinsurgency operations.

Harper enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 2008 and was promoted to lance corporal in November 2009, the 2nd Marine Division said.

His awards included the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and NATO Medal—ISAF Afghanistan.

Harper graduated from Alexander High School in 2008, the Douglas County Sentinel reported, and a moment of silence was observed before Friday night’s Alexander-Chapel Hill football game.

According to Freedom Remembered, survivors include his mother, Deborah Busbin Staples; father and his father’s wife, Brian and Angela Harper; a brother and sister; and a stepbrother and stepsister.

The funeral will be at Ephesus Baptist Church in Winston. No other details were available on the funeral or any public memorials.

Online tributes to Harper include pages at Freedom Remembered and the Military Yearbook Project, as well as the YouTube clip posted with this article.

Correction: An earlier version of this article said Harper's body had been returned to Douglas County. Instead, his body will arrive Thursday to an honor guard escort.