Fort Riley ? Worried parents and wives flooded Fort Riley and Red Cross officials with calls after learning three soldiers had been killed and another injured in a live-fire training exercise in California.

But the calls had slowed to a trickle by Saturday  a day after the accident. The last family members of the three victims had been notified of their loved ones’ deaths late Friday night.

The victims  all assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor as indirect fire infantrymen  were identified Saturday afternoon as:

l Sgt. Clifton J. Decklar, 22, Shelton, Wash., who entered the Army in January 1998 and had been at Fort Riley since June 1998.

l Spec. Bobby L. Newton, 27, New Orleans, who came into the Army in November 1997. He came to Fort Riley in May 2001.

l Pvt. 2 Oscar Perez-Jimenez, 19, of West Covina, Calif., who entered the Army in July 2001. He had been at Fort Riley since January 2002.

Pfc. Jamie Weare of Indianapolis, was treated and released at Weed Army Community Hospital and had returned to his unit later Friday.

The men died when a 120mm mortar round fired from an armored vehicle exploded prematurely during a training exercise during the pre-dawn hours at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif.

Decklar and Newton left wives and children. Weare also was married, said Deb Skidmore, deputy public affairs officer at Fort Riley.

Decklar’s wife, Danielle, 21, was visiting her parents and didn’t learn of her husband’s death until Friday night. The couple’s daughter, MaKenzie Marie, is only 10 months old.

“He was a good father, he was a good husband and a good soldier,” said Mike Westfall, Danielle’s father.

The other families could not be reached for comment.

Skidmore said her office received 250 calls from distraught relatives. The Red Cross and the Casualty Office also accepted calls.

One caller  still in disbelief  had just learned her son had been killed.

“She was checking, verifying,” Skidmore said.

Most received good news.

“They were calling to say, ‘Is my son OK?”‘ Skidmore said. “Most were anxious. Some were crying. The one that upset me the most, I talked to a father and he was crying. That one got to me. And then they are so relieved and say, ‘Thank you, thank you for telling me.”‘

“One lady demanded ‘Go get my son because I want to talk to him.”‘

A memorial service has been scheduled Tuesday at Fort Irwin. It is likely another one will be conducted at Fort Riley when the soldiers return in April, Skidmore said.

Funeral arrangements were pending.

“Everyone is very saddened at the loss,” Skidmore said. “It doesn’t just affect the families, it affects the entire post.”