Marine Cpl. Adam A. Galvez, 21, was one month from coming home to his parents in Salt Lake City when he was killed by a roadside bomb Aug. 20 while on combat operations in Iraq's deadliest province, Anbar.

Galvez and Marine Lance Cpl. Randy L. Newman, 21, of Bend, Ore., were killed near the town of Rawah when a vehicle they were riding in rolled over a pressure-sensitive explosive device. Navy seaman Chadwick T. Kenyon, 20, of Tucson, Ariz, was also killed in the explosion.

"If he had been in the driver's seat, he would have been spared," Tony Galvez said about his son. "He almost made it."

Adam Galvez, described by his parents as a great mechanic with a huge heart, became the 17th Utah soldier to die in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion began in March 2003. Funeral services for Galvez are being planned for around Tuesday of next week at Calvary Chapel in Salt Lake City.

Since the war began, at least 2,612 members of the U.S. military have died in Iraq, and almost 20,000 have been wounded, according to the Department of Defense.

Last month, Galvez was wounded when a suicide bomber detonated a device just outside of a building where several Marines were resting. The building collapsed and Galvez had to dig himself out from under the rubble, his father said.

Unable to locate his weapon amid the debris, Galvez found a shovel and began digging for other trapped Marines as gunfire went on around him. It's not clear what the extent of his injuries were, but Tony Galvez said his son was able to walk away with a limp.

"He believed in what he was doing," Tony Galvez said. "He was a true Marine, a true patriot."

Adam Galvez loved to play baseball and go snowboarding at Brighton Ski Resort. He attended West High School and graduated from Horizonte Instruction and Training Center in Salt Lake City.

His mother, Amy Galvez, said her son was never afraid to hug his parents or tell them, "I love you," even in front of his classmates.

"He was never embarrassed in front of his friends," she said.

In the Marines, Galvez was making his mark as a mechanic while assigned to the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

At his home on Salt Lake's west side, the black Mitsubishi Eclipse that he bought from the junk yard still sat in the driveway Tuesday, waiting to be fixed. A few feet away from the car, an American flag and a Marine Corps flag flew at half staff.