KSBY -- A Buellton Marine is killed while serving in Iraq.

Corporal Aaron Michael Allen was killed Friday by an improvised explosive device (IED). This was his second tour in Iraq and he was scheduled to return to the U.S. December 20.

"I told him, I don't care if you come back with no arms and no legs, you better get your butt home," Corporal Allen's sister, Amy Allen, said. "He promised, he said 'I'll never let anything bad happen to you and Mom.'"

It is a promise he was not able to keep.

"When I saw his First Sergeant and the Chaplain here, I knew immediately," Allen said. "There was no question in my mind."

Corporal Allen joined the Marine Corps four years ago, but his journey started at the age of 16. As the only boy of the family his mother had the right to keep him from going overseas, but the eager 24-year-old insisted.

"He was very proud to be part of the brotherhood and serve his country," Allen said.

Corporal Allen's service was supposed to end in March. After that he would return to the Central Coast, propose to his girlfriend and enroll in the Hancock College Fire Academy.

Now a lifetime of photographs and tulips he sent his girlfriend just days before his death mark a makeshift memorial in the family's home.

Meanwhile, messages of love and loss from across the country continue to flood his MySpace, something family members hope will keep his legacy alive.

"I hope that the memories people shared with him two years ago," said Allen, "I hope those are just as strong 10 years from now."

The family will hold a vigil Monday night at Old Mission Santa Ines in Solvang, and a memorial service is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

A foundation has been established in Aaron Allen's name at Santa Barbara Bank and Trust. All donations will benefit the youth football league.