A Texas soldier who was killed in Iraq had volunteered to go on patrol on the day he died, his family said.

Army Spc. Russell H. Nahvi, of Arlington, died Wednesday in Balad, Iraq. The 24-year-old medic had been scheduled to return from Iraq in January.

"He e-mailed his sister the day he died, and he told her not to tell us that he would be going in on patrol," said his mother, Nancy Nahvi, of Arlington. "That's where it all happened"

Two weeks before his death, her son told her that he was bored when confined to the base and wanted to be in the field, where he could actively help. When his friend and fellow medic went on leave, he volunteered to fill in on patrols, Nancy Nahvi said.

He was participating in one such patrol when indirect enemy fire struck his vehicle. Also killed in the attack were Sgt. Arthur A. Mora Jr., 23, of Pico Rivera, Calif. and Spc. Jose E. Rosario, 20, of St. Croix, Virgin Islands. All three were assigned to the 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division in Fort Stewart, Ga.

Russell Nahvi joined the military in 2003 and was inspired to become a medic by a television series about soldiers, as well as by her own experience as a nurse, Nancy Nahvi said.

"He thought maybe Air Force, maybe Navy, but he said in the Air Force you were flying above it all," she told The Dallas Morning News for Sunday editions. "But after he saw Band of Brothers, the love for his fellow soldiers is what drove him into the Army. He wanted to help his fellow Americans, and he did. He also helped Iraqis. Whoever was wounded, he helped"

The soldier was a 1999 graduate of Arlington Martin High School. He studied at the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Tech University and Texas Christian University before deciding to enlist, his mother said.

"He thought about joining for a long time, and then he was very glad when he did it," she said. "He wished he had made the decision a long time before"

He is survived by his mother, his father, Sam Nahvi, and his sister, Nina Nahvi.