JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Marine from Middleburg was killed Wednesday while serving in Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense said 36-year-old Master Sgt. John E. Hayes died on Wednesday while supporting combat operations in the Helmand province of Afghanistan.

Another Marine, Lance Cpl. Roger G. Hager, from North Carolina, was also killed.

The family of 36-year-old Hayes said he had e-mailed his wife from Afghanistan sometime last Wednesday and told her he was doing OK.

Just a short time later, Hayes and another soldier were killed when their vehicle was hit by a road-side bomb.

Betsy Kahmer didn't have a good feeling when her son-in-law Hayes embarked on his fourth tour of duty. This time she had the feeling she would never see him again.

"We were lucky enough to get him back the other three times he was over," Kahmer said. "The family knew that every time he went, the chances of getting him back were less and less and less."

Hayes was coming off patrol Wednesday when his vehicle was hit by an IED. The family said Hayes and 20-year-old Roger Hager were killed instantly. Shannon Hayes learned about her husbands death later that night.

"She's devastated," Shannon's brother Sean Hall said. "I've been trying to talk to her. I've talked to her a couple of times since. Trying to get to talk to her for more than five minutes at a time is really hard to do. She's holding out for the kids, but she's really hurting bad."

John and Shannon Hayes were high school sweethearts. They moved to North Carolina shortly after John enlisted in the Marine Corps.

The couple had three children and frequently came back to visit their hometown. They made a stop in Middleburg earlier this year, right before John left for Afghanistan.

"He was just here. Just here at Easter," Hall said. "I mean it gives me the chills now just talking about it."

"There's nothing you can do actually," Hall added. "Just thoughts and prayers are with my sister, and the family is supporting her any way they can. It's horrible."

"He's loving and good and everything a mother would want their daughter to have," Kahmer said, "and I just can't believe he's not going to be here anymore."

Hager, 20, of Gibsonville, and Hayes were both assigned to the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion.

Hayes, was the operations chief for Company A, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 3, according to a press release from II Marine Expeditionary Force. He joined the Marine Corps in July 1991 and was promoted to the rank of master sergeant in September 2008.

Hayes deployed to Afghanistan in April. His previous deployments included Kosovo and Albania in 1998, Kuwait in 1991 and Iraq in 2003 and 2007.

Hager was a small arms repairman assigned to Company A, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 3, 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade, according to the release.

He joined the Maine Corps in August 2007 and was promoted to the rank of lance corporal in March of 2009. He deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in April.

According to the Defense Department, as of Friday at least 657 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.