That's why the 1999 East Wake High School graduate opted for explosive ordnance duty right after he graduated boot camp.

On Tuesday, near Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan, Ginett died from wounds he suffered when a buried improvised explosive device went off near him.

According to his grandfather, Jim Haslam of Cary, Ginett was on point as his unit was walking toward a location where a cache of IEDs was believed to be hidden. One other person was killed in the incident and three were wounded, Haslam said.

Ginett's mother, Christina Kazacavage, of Coats, said her son had a reason for pursuing one of the most dangerous missions in the military.

"He told me 'Mom, I don't go out there on the battlefield with a gun and shoot anybody. I find these bombs that are going to take some else's life. I'm saving people's lives, not taking them,'" Kazacavage said yesterday.

Ginett had planned for a career in the military since he was in high school at East Wake, but he had other interests too. He interned for four summers during high school with cartoonists at Walt Disney World in Florida and he worked in Nancy Redman's pottery studio in Knightdale during his last year of high school.

Redman remembers him as an artistic friend of the family.

"He just had a big interest in art," Redman said.

Ginett was based at Aviano Air Base in Italy before deploying to Afghanistan in September, 2009. It was his second tour of duty there. He won the Bronze Star for his role in a firefight on his first tour in Afghanistan. He also served two tours in Iraq.

Ginett's body arrived at Dover Air Force Base yesterday. His mother said Ginett would return to North Carolina on Tuesday. Visitation will take place Thursday at Thomas Funeral Home in Fuquay-Varina. Funeral Mass will be held Friday at St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Fuquay-Varina. He will be buried with full military honors in Raleigh Memorial Park.