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Rosa Isabel Castillo was setting the Sunday breakfast table when two Army representatives pulled up to her Gaithersburg home.

"They came to the house, so elegant, so somber. As soon as I saw them, I knew what it was; I knew that they were here to tell me something terrible had happened," she said Tuesday in Spanish, breaking down into heavy sobs. "I didn't want to open the door. I didn't want to let them tell me my Rodrigo had died."

Her son, Spc. Rodrigo A. Munguiarivas, 27, was killed by indirect fire in Afghanistan on Sunday, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Defense. He was dedicated to serving the country he came to love, said Castillo, who moved to the U.S. from El Salvador in 1993, her son joining her in 1995.

"He loved the United States. He wanted to be there not out of necessity, not out of obligation," Castillo said. "He did it because he wanted to go."

Munguiarivas most recently lived in Germantown. He joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from Col. Zadok Magruder High School in 2000. He served in the Navy for four years, including a tour in Iraq, Castillo said.

His girlfriend, who lives in El Salvador, recently miscarried, she said. Munguiarivas' father also lives in El Salvador, she said.

Munguiarivas joined active duty in the Army in 2008 and was deployed to Afghanistan in January. He was a driver with the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum, N.Y., according to statements from the Department of Defense and the base at Fort Drum. He and Sgt. Ricky D. Jones, 26, of Alabama, were killed Sunday, according to the statements.

Cpl. Diego Jara, 27, met Munguiarivas at Magruder and they were stationed at Fort Drum. Jara described his friend as quiet and easygoing. He liked soccer, cars and had a motorcycle.

"Every time I'll think of him, I'll think of him hanging out at the house, sitting around, having a beer or something," Jara said. "He's just a normal guy, sitting down drinking beer once in a while, talking about girls once in a while, old girlfriends, high school memories, old friends."

Munguiarivas liked playing baseball with Jara's young sons.

"The whole time I was looking forward to him coming back," said Jara, who added that Munguiarivas wanted to marry his girlfriend. "I was going to ask if they wanted to stay with me."

Jara is readying his uniform to serve in Munguiarivas' funeral, which has not been scheduled.