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SANFORD, N.C – As the military continues to investigate the cause of an F-15 E Strike Eagle crash in Afghanistan, the family of 26-year-old Capt. Mark McDowell, who was killed in the crash, is mourning his loss.

For Rev. Gilbert McDowell, the sky was always the limit for his grandson, Mark.

"You don't want to brag on your grandchildren, but he was extremely bright," McDowell said.

Mark McDowell was the first in his family to join the military. He decided in high school that he wanted to attend the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"I don't know why he wanted to be in the Air Force, it was just a feeling," Gilbert McDowell said. "To me, it was a God-given feeling."

The retired minister said his grandson loved the Air Force. He also loved his family and would often call his grandparents when he had the chance. The two called each other the night before Mark McDowell deployed to Afghanistan in April and prayed together.

"He said, 'Granddaddy, don't you worry about me. They have never shot down one of these planes,'" Gilbert McDowell said. "He was not afraid."

Mark McDowell was assigned to the 336th Fighter Squadron, which was scheduled to return in a few weeks. Gilbert McDowell got news of the plane’s crash Saturday morning.

He said he had presided over many funerals, including those for servicemen, but he didn't recall crying during those because he had to put up a brace front. But when he heard about his grandson, he broke down.

"It was different," McDowell said. "I still can't believe it. He's too young to die."

Mark McDowell was married less than two years to a girl he met when they were both at the Air Force Academy. Both were stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

Gilbert McDowell said his grandson's body is back in the U.S. and he will get a military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery when his unit returns. The retired preacher said he will miss the talks he would have with his grandson, but is very proud he died doing what he loved.

"He's not the first one and will not be the last one to die to give us the freedom that we have," he said.