ROME, Ga. — The uncle of a Marine from northwest Georgia who was killed in Afghanistan joined the military when he was 17 and previously had been in Iraq.

Lance Cpl. Seth Sharp of Adairsville was killed Thursday, just six weeks after arriving in Afghanistan, Shane Rogers told the Rome News-Tribune.

Rogers says the 20-year-old Sharp played football at Adairsville High School but left high school early to join the Marines.

He is survived by his mother, Angie Sharp, and his father and stepmother, Rick and Tiffany Sharp.

Sharp was killed during Operation Strike of the Sword, the latest push by the Marine Corps taking on the Taliban. He was serving in Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines.