The Army and Wilbert Davis were a perfect match. “He was just meticulous in everything he did,” said his mother, Willie Mae Lane. A brother, Robert, said, “Wilbert didn’t believe in mistakes.”

Davis, 40, and journalist Michael Kelly died April 3 when their Humvee went into a canal near Baghdad. Davis had served in the Middle East several times and “probably knew his way around pretty well,” his brother said.

Wilbert Davis was one of eight children. His father died when he was 3, and his mother raised the family on her own. They lived in a public housing project in Tampa. “We were as poor as you could be,” his brother said.

Davis excelled at sports. At age 13, he was a pitcher for the Belmont Heights Little League, which produced such baseball greats as Dwight Gooden and Gary Sheffield. Davis had to win 13 games in a row to get the team to the Little League World Series, his mother said. “He did. But he threw his arm out pitching.” The family said the team came in third.

Davis joined the Army 15 years ago at the urging of a sister, Cynthia Williams, who was married to an Army man.

Davis’ wife, Hui Ok, said, “He had so much love to give for his children and his family.”

They had two sons, Terry, 13 and Wilbert Jr., 8, who live in Savannah, Ga. Davis also had two grown daughters in Tampa.

His brother said Wilbert Davis “died as a soldier fighting for this country, and we’re content with that. We’re sad, but we know he fulfilled his life purpose.”