RGJ.COM -- Sgt. Eric W. Morris of Sparks figured he couldn’t be killed patrolling the Iraq desert in the Army’s Stryker armored combat vehicle, a friend said Monday.

“He was doing nothing but raving about them,” Jeff Sawtell, a family friend, said Monday. “He ran over a mine a week or two (ago). He said, ‘I thought I was a goner, but all it did was rock the vehicle.’ He really did think they were invincible, until this happened.”

Morris, 31, and three other soldiers were killed Thursday in Iraq when a homemade bomb exploded near their Stryker, the Department of Defense said.

A memorial service is scheduled today at Fort Lewis, Wash., the home base for Morris and 1st Lt. William A. Edens, 29, of Columbia, Mo., who also died in the incident.

Morris attended Reed High School in Sparks in 1992 and 1993.

His unit, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, deployed to Iraq in September from Fort Lewis. It was the second tour of duty in Iraq for Morris.

Morris spent 17 months in Iraq, then came home and returned with the 1st Battalion, said his sister, Tina Farley.

“He was only home two months,” Farley said.

Morris was on his second enlistment in the Army, Sawtell said. He left the Army the first time in 2001, then signed up again after Sept. 11, 2001.

“He came up to me and said, ‘I can’t let Sept. 11 happen and not do anything about it,’ ” Sawtell said. “Within a month, he got married, re-enlisted.”

Morris was working for Sawtell at a Northern Nevada hardware supply company when the terrorists attacked.

“When Sept. 11 happened, he made the decision to re-enlist,” Sawtell said.

Farley recalled her brother’s decision.

“He said, ‘You know what? I’m not going to tolerate (Sept. 11). I’m going back in,’ ” she said.

Farley was killed near the town of Tal Afar in Iraq.

“I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Sgt. Morris,” Gov. Kenny Guinn said in a prepared statement. “Sgt. Morris risked his own life so that others would have the opportunity to experience the liberties that all Americans enjoy. Sadly, this act of bravery cost him his life.”

“All Nevadans owe him a debt of gratitude for his service. For his honor and bravery, all of Nevada is eternally grateful,” Guinn said.

The bomb killed two other soldiers, Spec. Ricky W. Rockholt Jr., 28, of Winston, Ore., and Pfc. Robert W. Murray Jr., 21, of Westfield, Ind.