James F. Costello

Friday, April 14 2006 @ 08:07 AM EDT

www.stltoday.com -- As a young boy, Oakville native Jamie Costello was a staunch patriot, listening to tales of how his paternal great-grandfather in the U.S. cavalry chased the likes of Pancho Villa.

Costello's maternal grandfather was a second lieutenant in the cavalry as well, so it was fitting that Costello wound up with a cavalry regiment when he enlisted in the Army in 2004.

"He was a history buff, his hero was George Patton, and he felt so strongly about the mission in Iraq," said his mother, Marie Costello.

Costello, 27, was deployed to Iraq in December and hadn't seen much combat until Tuesday, his mother said. That day, Costello was one of three U.S. soldiers killed in combat in Taji, Iraq, the Department of Defense confirmed Thursday.

The Pentagon said an improvised explosive device detonated near their Bradley Fighting Vehicle and they subsequently came under small-arms fire. All three soldiers were assigned to the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas.

Officially known as Pfc. James F. Costello III, friends and family called him Jamie. He was a 1996 graduate of Oakville Senior High School. He played four years for the school's hockey team, the Oakville Tigers. He was the oldest of three children.

After high school, Costello spent several years working for the U.S. Postal Service. He passed up a full-time job at the post office to join the Army. A close friend, Matt Pretto, said Costello was a fan of NASCAR and driver Tony Stewart and would often go to races at Gateway.

"He was very fun-loving, very outgoing," Pretto said. "And very patriotic, especially when it came to the major U.S. wars, he was really into the history of it."

Costello's mother said she last spoke with her son by telephone on March 28. "He loved what he was doing," she recalled. "He said it was very calm."

He told his mother that he was among soldiers protecting a town called Saba al Bor.

"They had a very close relationship with the Iraqi people and the children," she said. He talked about how soldiers gave soccer balls and candy to the Iraqi children, and how the Iraqi townspeople would "rat out" any insurgents and grab their own weapons to help in their own defense.

On Thursday, the family was grieving inside their Oakville home, as an American flag flew at half-staff on a flagpole near the front walk, and a black ribbon hung from the mailbox.

"We're kind of numb right now," Marie Costello said. "When we get Jamie home, that's when it's all going to come tumbling down."

The Pentagon identified the soldiers killed with Costello as Cpl. Joseph A. Blanco, 25, of Bloomington, Calif., and Pfc. George R. Roehl Jr., 21, of Manchester, N.H.

As of Thursday, at least 2,368 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 1,853 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

At least 34 members of the U.S. military killed in Iraq had lived in the St. Louis region.

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