LOVELAND, Ohio -- A Marine who grew up in the Tri-State has died while serving in Afghanistan.
Military officials say Marine Captain David "Seth" Mitchell, 30, died when a helicopter he was in, crashed into another as they flew over the Helmand Province.
Mitchell, who graduated from Loveland High School, was one of four Marines killed in that crash on Monday.
Several of the teachers at Loveland High School were saddened and upset to learn one of their best students from 12 years ago had died.
Mitchell was known as "Seth" at Loveland High School, where he graduated from in 1997.
Before he was a captain, teachers and coaches at Loveland knew Mitchell as a quiet student-athlete, who made friends easily and always responded with "yes, sir" or "no, sir" to directions and questions.
Mitchell played football and track as was senior class president; before leaving Loveland for Virginia Tech University and then a career in the Marines.
Captain Mitchell was assigned to the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367, based out of Pendleton, California.
Even though Mitchell's parents moved to the Carolinas, teachers say he'd come back to Loveland to renew old friendships during the holidays.
Kevin Taylor, Loveland Assistant Athletic Director says, "He got along with everybody. (He would even come back to the Tri-state for the holidays and helped organize a holiday football game, the Turkey Bowl. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, they'd get together and play touch football."
While he was a student at Loveland High School, Mitchell was number 30 on the football team. Taylor says Mitchell was a former student, and now family friend who made him proud.
Captain Mitchell died during one of the bloodiest days, in the last four years, for American forces in Afghanistan. In total on Monday; 14 Americans died in two separate helicopter crashes in different parts of that country.
