MARSHFIELD, Wis. >> After he finished his second tour of duty in Iraq, Joe Altmann could have switched careers and found a safer job. But the Army medic from Marshfield never gave it a thought; he just couldn’t bring himself to leave his fellow soldiers.

Altmann re-enlisted this year and was sent to Afghanistan, where he died on Christmas Day after insurgents in Kunar province attacked his unit with small-arms fire, the Defense Department said. Altmann had celebrated his 27th birthday 10 days earlier.

"Joe really, really loved the job he was doing," his mother said by telephone Tuesday. "He was so proud to stand next to the men he served with."

Janice Altmann said the family was preparing to fly to Dover, Del., on Tuesday to meet her son’s body. They were "devastated," even though they knew the risks Altmann faced, she said.

"As a mother, you worry about your child no matter what they do," Janice Altmann said, her voice cracking, "but we talked about it, and we supported his decision 110 percent."

Altmann was a popular student and athlete at Columbus Catholic High School, his mother said. While he wasn’t a superstar athlete or an honors student, he had a fierce streak of determination and never gave up.

Whatever he started, he finished "with all the might he had," his mother said.

Bryan DeVries, Altmann’s former physical-education teacher and baseball coach in high school, remembered Altmann as a quiet student who led with a sort of silent strength.

"He wasn’t quiet in a shy way," DeVries said. "It was more than when he spoke it was because there was something to be said. He wasn’t one to be throwing the limelight to himself."

Altmann talked in high school about joining the Army but decided to go to college for a year before he enlisted. In October 2010, he volunteered for advanced training as a medic. The training involved three days of exhausting tests that culminated with a 12-mile run with a full pack that had to be completed in less than three hours.

"It was pretty grueling, but he never complained," Janice Altmann said. "He never complained about anything. You just never heard that all from him, ever."

Altmann is the 29th Wisconsin resident to die while serving in Afghanistan, and the 10th this year. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. He is survived by his wife of 10 months, his mother said. He had no children.

Gov. Scott Walker issued his condolences Tuesday afternoon.

"Joseph now serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by our honorable service men and women all across the world each and every day," Walker said in a prepared statement.

DeVries said his former student was always trying to help others, so it came as no surprise that he became an Army medic who cared for injured soldiers.

"I remember a day when he came walking back into gym a couple of years ago after he graduated," DeVries said. "He was the proudest, most stoic-looking man, walking in with his shoulders back. That was a man who knew where he supposed to be."

Altmann loved hunting, fishing, skiing, anything that involved the outdoors, his mother said. And after a long day of exertion, he was happy just to hang out with friends and play video games.

"He just lit up a room. He was always bright and bubbly, always in a good mood," Janice Altmann said. "It’s not that he was the life of the party or anything. He just enjoyed immensely getting together with his friends and spending quality time together."

Janice Altmann had trouble sleeping Tuesday morning so she huddled with a box of tissues and logged onto her son’s Facebook page at 4 a.m. Among the condolences was a post from a fellow soldier that brought tears to her eyes. It was a Biblical quote, Isaiah 6:8, and she said it summed up perfectly what kind of soldier — and what kind of man — her son had become:

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’

"And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me.’"