Lance Cpl. Matthew R. Barnes, 20, of West Monroe, La., and Cpl. Rusty L. Washam, 21, of Huntsville, Tenn., were friends, said Washam's mother, Beverly Washam, in a telephone interview Thursday.

According to a Pentagon news release, they were killed while on patrol near the city of Al Qa'im, on the Syrian border. Their unit was supposed to rotate home in about a month, Washam's mother said.

Their parents described them as gung-ho and mischievous.

Washam got in trouble for tossing a football in the cafeteria at Scott High School -- where he was in the Class of 2003.

He played football in high school, and had just the prettiest smile, his mother said.

Saturday was his birthday -- just his 21st, though he is leaving two children behind -- and he called home.

"Rusty, be careful," his mother told him.

"Oh, ma," he said. "It's pretty quiet here now."

Washam's survivors include his mother; his father, Sonny; sons Ryan, 4, and Andrew, 2; sisters Lilly, Michelle and Misty Day; brothers Staff Sgt. Donny Washam of the Air Force and Cpl. Dustin Washam of the Army.

Barnes also played football. He was punter on a West Monroe High team that won the state championship and was a black belt in karate.

He loved church, said his father, Rick Barnes. In Iraq, Matthew Barnes attended a chapel in an abandoned rail yard that was dubbed "Soul Train."

Barnes had tried college but settled on the Marines. He volunteered to operate the daunting .50-caliber machine gun and for the security detail.

The night before he was killed, Barnes sent an e-mail to his family to say his unit had just seen some action but was back in camp for a while.

"He liked being on the go," said his father. "He enjoyed it when they were on missions, out there on patrol. That's when he was happiest."

Rick Barnes said the Marines had been a perfect fit for a hard-charging young man who liked to live in the moment.

"He was totally at peace with what he was doing," said his father.

Barnes' survivors also include his mother, Connie; a brother, Jonathan, 17, and a sister, Kenda, 9.

(News researcher Lamara Williams-Hackett contributed to this story.)

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