OregonLive.com -- U.S. Marine Cpl. James Lee Moore didn't know what he wanted to do after he graduated from Roseburg High School in 1999, but he found purpose after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, his family and friends said Thursday.

Moore, 24, was among the 30 Marines and one Navy medic killed this week when their military transport helicopter crashed in western Iraq. He is the 38th person with Oregon ties to die in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Moore had kept in contact with several teachers and administrators after he graduated, said Roseburg High Principal Karen Goirigolzarri.

"He was a really great person," she said. "He loved his family. He knew right from wrong. He knew where he was headed. He was a hard worker, so wherever he landed he did fine."

Moore didn't know what career to pursue after high school, she said.

He later decided to follow the path of his stepbrother, enlisting in the Marine Corps shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said his stepmother, Suzanne Moore.

"He wanted to make a difference," she said. "He was proud of what he was doing. He thought they were doing the right things and a good job. And we support that. James would want us to support his brothers -- that's what he calls everyone fighting there."

The CH-53E Super Stallion went down while transporting the Marines for security operations in preparation for Sunday's elections. The military was investigating the cause of the crash and gave no indication there had been enemy fire.

At least 27 of the dead were based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, but they came from cities across the United States.

Moore's family members said they learned of his death Wednesday night, when several Marines came to their door.

"It still hasn't sunk in," Suzanne Moore said. "We can't get past, 'We regret to inform you.' "

James Moore, a Roseburg native, had been in Iraq since late summer and was expected home by May or June. He last spoke to his family by phone Christmas morning, his stepmother said.

When his time in the Marines was up, Moore had thought of going to Montana to train to become a hunting or fishing guide, she said.

"James was just an awesome kind of person," Suzanne Moore said. "He could come over and just show up out of the blue, bring you a cappuccino and know exactly how you like it. He was really generous, really good."