SAN ANTONIO -- A 29-year-old soldier from San Antonio was killed in Afghanistan this week.

Sgt. Roger Peña Jr., 29, a Harlandale High School graduate, was deployed to the region three months ago and had survived an ambush three weeks ago, the victim's father said.

"They sent him back to the same mission," said Roger Peña Sr., the soldier's father. "He didn't come back. And I've got a big empty hole in my heart.

"He did what he loved. He joined the service on his own free will to protect this country. Protect all of us, because that's what he believed in."

Sgt. Peña was scheduled to visit San Antonio in November, when he planned on taking his wife and their two sons to Disneyland.

The soldier joined the service three years ago after attending the University of Texas at Austin.

Funeral arrangements are pending.