FRENCH VALLEY ——At a backyard barbecue last summer, U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Dexter Kimble told the friends and family who came to wish him well before he left for his second tour of duty in Iraq not to worry about him.

"The last thing he told me was 'I'll be right back,'" his brother-in-law Troy Holmes of Oceanside said Monday.

Over the weekend, family members gathered once again at the Kimbles' home, in a quiet neighborhood just north of Temecula. This time it was to comfort his wife, Dawanna, and the couple's four young children after the family received news last week that Dexter Kimble had been killed Jan. 26 when his helicopter crashed in Iraq.

Kimble, 30, a 13-year Marine veteran, was among the 31 troops who died when the CH-53E Super Stallion they were in went down near Ar Rutbah, about 200 miles west of Baghdad.

Most of the Marines, and the U.S. sailor who perished in the crash, were based in Hawaii. However, three of those killed, including Kimble —— a helicopter crew chief —— were based in San Diego.

The trio was assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

The helicopter was on a routine mission in support of Sunday's elections in Iraq, according to U.S. Army Gen. John Abizaid, chief of the U.S. Central Command. The cause of the crash, the deadliest single incident since the invasion of Iraq began, remains under investigation.

The Kimble family moved to its home off Pourroy Road about two years ago, said Jimmy Green, Dawanna Kimble's father, who traveled from his Bakersfield home to be with his daughter and grandchildren.

"I got a call about 5:30 in the morning and was told Dexter's helicopter went down," Green said. "They said 'Dawanna needs you' and I said I'd get there as soon as I can."

Family members at the home Monday remembered Dexter Kimble as a dedicated and fun-loving father and husband.

"He loved to get the whole family over here for a barbecue," Holmes said. "He really was comical. He could be very funny."

Kimble, originally from Houston, also was dedicated to the Corps.

"He truly was a Marine," Green said. "When he was on duty, he was all Marine. But he could leave that job behind when he came home and be a good father and a good husband."

Dexter and Dawanna Kimble were to celebrate their eighth wedding anniversary this week. The oldest of their children, a 10 year old, is from a previous marriage, while the youngest is 10 months old, one child is 3 and the other is 5.

The couple met at a dance in a crowded hall at Camp Pendleton.

"There was nowhere to sit and Dexter got up and offered her his seat," Green said. "That really impressed her."

Family members plan to travel to Houston this week for Dexter Kimble's funeral. Details of that service are not yet available.

Dexter Kimble is the seventh Southwest County service member to die while serving in Iraq.

U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Aaron Contreras of Temecula died March 30, 2003. U.S. Army Pfc. Daniel Parker of Lake Elsinore died Aug. 12, 2003. Cpl. Matthew Matula died April 9, 2004, U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Jorge Molina Bautista of Sun City was killed on May 23, 2004. U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Justin Hunt of Wildomar was killed July 6, 2004 and U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Kevin Shea was killed on Sept. 14, 2004.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact John Hunneman at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2603,

or hunneman@californian.com.