LEWISTON – A man from Lewiston was one of three soldiers killed last week in Iraq when their vehicle fell into a ravine.

Spc. Daniel Francis J. Cunningham, 33, was one of the victims of the Friday incident, according to the Department of Defense. Cunningham belonged to the 41st Field Artillery Regiment, based in Fort Stewart, Ga.

“He was definitely proud of what he was doing. He didn’t have any hesitation on going,” his brother James said from their mother’s home. “My dad fought in Vietnam, so he was more than willing. He knew about patriotism.”

Cunningham had been in the Army for more than three years, and he worked loading tanks and delivering artillery. The family was told that the men drowned after their vehicle went into a ravine, said Richard Winchester, boyfriend of the soldier’s mother, Nancy Cunningham.

“I know he was inside Baghdad,” James Cunningham said. “They were, from what we were told, bringing ammunition to the front and they were on the way back.”

The vehicle apparently was swerving to avoid mortar rounds and artillery fire and lost control, he said.

Cunningham had been in the Middle East since February, his brother said, and described his surroundings to their mother in a letter dated March 8, before the fighting broke out.

“He wanted some Pepsi, baby wipes and cigarettes. He just said it was hot. He went into some details about the bugs and lizards they have over there,” James Cunningham said. “His spirits were up, talking about sand in his ears and how he had enough to build a palace.”

The letter was a typical example of Cunningham’s good nature, James Cunningham said, noting that people at parties were drawn to him because of his ready smile and his ability to put smiles on their faces.

Cunningham, the oldest of three boys, was born in Lewiston and also lived in Harrison, Bridgton and Mechanic Falls. He graduated from Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in South Paris.

His wife, Heather, and 10-year-old son, Conor, live in Revere, Mass. Flags on city-owned buildings in Revere, just north of Boston, were lowered to half-staff in Cunningham’s honor, mayor’s aide Bob Furlong said.

Cunningham managed restaurants before joining the Army. He was motivated to enlist, in part, because he wanted to provide for his son and also by their father’s service in the Marines, James Cunningham said.

Cunningham’s father, also named Daniel, died in September.

Two Marines with Maine ties previously were killed in the war.

Maj. Jay Thomas Aubin, who was among the first U.S. dead in the war with Iraq, grew up in Skowhegan. He was killed when the CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter he was piloting crashed in Kuwait, killing 12 U.S. and British Marines.

One of those aboard was Marine Cpl. Brian Kennedy of Houston, whose mother lives in the village of Port Clyde in the town of St. George.

Two other men from the 41st Field Artillery Regiment were killed in Friday’s incident. They were Pfc. Wilfred D. Bellard, 20, of Lake Charles, La., and Pvt. Devon D. Jones, 19, of San Diego.

The incident is under investigation.