Blue Springs, Mo. ? Michael Mazzarella and his 22-year-old son had plans for next year.

When Pvt. Anthony Mazzarella got home from Iraq, in February or so, the two of them would take off somewhere – maybe cruise the Mediterranean, or “jump in the car, drive south and hang out together.” That’s how much they enjoyed each other’s company.

But with his son’s death Tuesday in a Humvee accident near Baghdad, the father was making plans instead for a memorial service.

Mazzarella was the 54th soldier from Kansas’ Fort Riley to die in support of military operations in Iraq, where he was deployed in March. He was assigned to the Army’s 1st Battalion, 13th Armor, 1st Armored Division.

“He was a real sociable person,” Michael Mazzarella said. “He was a little wiry guy in the best shape of his life, real buff. He would walk into a place and really know how to work a room.

“Anthony had a joy for life. He did what he wanted to do.”

A 2001 graduate of Blue Springs South High, where he had been in Junior ROTC as a freshman, Mazzarella delivered pizzas and played guitar with a small band before deciding to enlist.

“After the invasion into Iraq he talked about going into the Army … seeing the world … driving a tank,” his father said. “I felt a sense of pride when he told me.”

The last time Anthony and Michael spoke by telephone was on Father’s Day. When two soldiers came to his house Tuesday night, the father “knew right away” why they were there.

“I had thought the odds were with us that he would come home in one piece,” he said.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Fort Riley.