Lalush lived in Sunnyvale, went to Ponderosa Elementary School and Petersen Middle School. He was a left-handed pitcher and first baseman in the Sunnyvale Metro Little League. He also played soccer in the Sunnyvale American Youth Soccer Association.

After his freshman year at Wilcox High, he moved with his parents in 1994 to the small Virginia town of Troutville, about 20 miles north of Roanoke.

There, Lalush played baseball and football and grew into a tall, slim young man who loved to tinker with and fix things. After graduation from Lord Botetourt High School, Lalush headed straight for the Marines and boot camp at Parris Island in South Carolina. He transferred to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and then to Camp Pendleton in San Diego, and from there he was deployed to Iraq. Lalush, 23, was not married.

"Mike loved the Marines," says long time family friend Peter Deguara of Sunnyvale. "He'd re-enlisted for another four years." Lalush had decided to make a career of the military.

"That was what he always wanted to do," says Louis Lalush, the young Marine's grandfather who lives in Sacramento.

Lalush's love of using his hands made him a natural for mechanics. For his work in the Marines, he started as a helicopter mechanic, became crew chief and then inspector and then instructor.

But Sgt. Michael Vernon Lalush's career was cut short when his Huey helicopter crashed while he was serving as crew chief in the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron in southern Iraq. Three Marines including Lalush were killed and one injured. Their job was to carry food and ammunition to the troops and they transported injured soldiers to hospitals.

The cause for the crash is unknown, and the Pentagon says enemy fire played no role.

Lalush was proud of his job and believed in what he was doing in Iraq. He had recently sent his parents pictures of the rescue work his crew was doing there.

Peter and Rosemary Deguara met the Lalushes through their children's sports activities. "We've been friends for a long time," says Rosemary. "We talk with them almost every day now. It's hard." She says the Lalushes have been bombarded with calls and visits from friends and from the press.

"Michael was a shy boy but he had a quick smile," she says. "He was a good boy. You know one of those kids that's polite and very nice to have around.