A former snowboarder, the 21-year-old Orange County native gave every task his all and was proud to be serving with the famously tough Army unit in Iraq.

"Joel's motto was 'go big or go home,'" said his father, Gary Brattain, 51, who runs a construction and consulting companies in Orange County's Brea.

Brattain died Saturday after an explosive struck his military vehicle in Baghdad, the Department of Defense said. Also killed were Sgt. Daniel J. Londono, 22, of Boston, and Staff Sgt. Clint D. Ferrin, 31, of Picayune, Miss. All three were assigned to Fort Bragg, N.C.

Brattain, who had grown up in Brea and Yorba Linda, joined the Army in March 2003 after graduating from Esperanza High School in Anaheim and moving to Lake Tahoe to focus on snowboarding, his father said.

He enlisted as way to give something back to his country, his family said. In January, he deployed to Iraq to support troops already there and was scheduled to return in April.

"He loved this country and he believed in what we were doing," said his brother Kris Brattain, 27, of Yorba Linda. "I'm the older brother but he'll be my hero for the rest of life."

A memorial service is scheduled for Wednesday in Orange, his father said. He leaves behind his parents, six siblings and a wife - his high school sweetheart.

"Everybody is just heartbroken," his father said. "This is more than we can take."

Flags in Sacramento will be flown at half-staff to honor Brattain.