Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- A Gwinnett County man was among three Georgia National Guardsmen who were killed Friday in a truck accident in Iraq.

The Department of Defense has identified the three as Staff Sgt. Philip L. Travis, 41, of Snellville, Spc. Marcus S. Futrell, 20, of Macon and Sgt. Philip A. Dodson Jr., 42, of Forsyth.

The three died Friday at Tallil Air Base of injuries sustained when their truck rolled over.

Travis grew up in Alabama before moving to Atlanta as a teen, his aunt Yvonne Carter said. Travis previously served in the Navy, she said.

“He loved to read. He loved computers,” Carter said. “He was a very jovial guy, a very happy-go-lucky guy.”

Sgt. Bruce Westbrook, 47, of Atlanta, was a friend of Travis.

“We met in Lawrenceville at the guard unit. He was the cook. He was just a nice fellow. We got to know each other pretty good and went out together to eat lunch,” Westbrook said.

“He really cared about his job. We use to say when we got back to Atlanta we were going to go out and laugh about all this. He use to love big knives and had a collection of them. He was so close to going home. He was suppose to be safe down there. I don’t understand it.”

The three accident victims were assigned to the Headquarters Company of the 148th Support Battalion, a unit of the 48th Brigade, based in Monroe County.

With more than 2,500 Georgians and nearly 2,000 soldiers from other states, the 48th Brigade represents the largest overseas deployment of the state’s Guard since World War II. Friday’s accident brings the death toll for the unit to 25.