The last time his parents heard from Marine Cpl. Jason David Mileo was when he phoned them from Baghdad's central square as the statue of Saddam Hussein fell, his grandfather said Friday.

"A media reporter was in the square and he gave Jason his satellite phone to call his parents to tell them to watch as he was there," said Mileo's paternal grandfather, Walter J. Hall of Pasadena.

Unfortunately, Mileo's parents, Phillip J. Hall and Leah Mileo Hall of Centreville, weren't home when he called. But they heard - and saved - the message on their answering machine.

"It was the first time they'd heard from him since war started, and they were extremely relieved and happy to hear he was alive and well and in Baghdad and that victory was imminent," Hall said.

Five days later, Mileo was shot and killed after he was mistaken for an enemy soldier, the Department of Defense said.

"Emergency personnel were immediately dispatched to the scene, but Mileo died on site," according to a Defense Department statement. His death Monday is under investigation.

"Every soldier is always at risk," Hall said. " ... Jason is a soldier on a battlefield and we are very proud of that."

"He was a fine young man, the epitome of a U.S. Marine. He was a brave soldier who had been a very loving, dutiful son," Hall said. "He went into battle knowing that there was danger."

Mileo, 20, of Centreville, was assigned to the India Company of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, based in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Mileo was born in Baltimore and grew up in Pasadena, in Anne Arundel County. His parents recently moved to Centreville in Queen Anne's County on the Eastern Shore.

A yellow ribbon was tied on the front door of the trailer where the Halls are living as they build a new home nearby. A green sport utility vehicle parked there had a Marine Corps sticker, and a U.S. flag flew from an adjacent shed. Phillip Hall, who answered the door Friday, declined to comment.

Mileo joined the Marines a little over two years ago after graduating from Chesapeake Senior High School in Pasadena, Walter Hall said.

"He thought he'd join the Marines and see the world, then he'd be a little more wiser in choice of career," Hall said. "And he hoped by joining the Marines to get money for college."

With the Marines, Mileo traveled across the United States and had a tour of duty in Okinawa, Japan, his grandfather said.

Hall said Mileo's family was proud of him and his rapid advancement in the Marines. He reached the rank of corporal and became a platoon leader in just two years.

Hall read Friday morning through Mileo's letters from Kuwait, including his last letter to his grandfather before crossing the border into Iraq.

"I hope we don't have to go to war, but I'm ready to defend the nation," Mileo wrote.

Mileo's parents posted a poem titled "Our Hero" about their son on the website of the funeral home handling arrangements for Mileo. It read, in part, "He gave his all, he gave his life, for the sake of you and me. No greater love can any man show than for his country to die. A true Marine, he helped win the war. The few - the proud - 'Semper Fi.'"

Mileo graduated in 2000 from Chesapeake High, where he was on the golf team and in the drama club, Hall said.

"He was a good student - he never missed more than three days of school," said Harry Calender, Chesapeake High principal. "He liked working with the stage crew."

Survivors include a 5-year-old brother, Zachary A. Hall of Centreville; his maternal grandmother, Margaret Mileo of Pasadena; maternal grandfather, Vincent Mileo Jr. of Glen Burnie; his paternal grandparents, Joyce L. Hall and Walter J. Hall, both of Pasadena, and his maternal great-grandmother, Isabelle R. Mileo of Westminster.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete Friday.

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Associated Press writer Randall Chase in Centreville contributed to this story.

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On the Net:

Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home:

http://www.fhnfuneralhome.com

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