Tim O'Donnell grew up dreaming of being a soldier.
He first let slip his military aspirations as a 4-year-old, in his grandmother's arms.
She encouraged him by giving him an army helmet, and before long he was camouflaging his face.
He joined up in 2005.
As he prepared for his Afghanistan service in April, father Mark O'Donnell gave him some advice.
"I told him to be brave, but I didn't want him to be dead brave. I wanted him to come home," he said.
"He laughed and patted me on the back."The former policeman choked back tears describing the "nightmare" news received early yesterday.
"I was in Auckland. My wife [Maryanne] was at home by herself and she got a knock on the door," Mr O'Donnell said at the Linton Army base yesterday.
"There will be a large hole in our lives as we get used to life without the personality and presence of our loved son and friend."New Zealand soldiers in Afghanistan were expected to return last night to the scene of the attack that killed Lieutenant O'Donnell, to try to piece together exactly what happened.
The two survivors - Lance Corporal Matthew Ball (24) and Private Allister Baker (23) - are recovering from their ordeal.
Lcpl Ball suffered burns to about 10% of his body, a gash to his leg and a cut to his head while Pte Baker has cuts, abrasions and a broken foot.
They were expected to be taken to Bagram Air Force Base overnight and will be evacuated from Afghanistan.
They are expected to be flown to Germany before returning to New Zealand.
Low cloud and steep mountainous terrain meant air-support services could not immediately evacuate the soldiers yesterday - they were forced to take cover at a nearby building for 11 hours after the attack.
The Defence Force said the delay in getting to the soldiers did not appear to have been a factor in Lt O'Donnell's death.
Details of the attack were sketchy and the Defence Force did not yet know exactly when Lt O'Donnell was killed.
The O'Donnells' last phone call to their son was a fortnight ago and emails were regular.
"We were discussing a trip to Europe at the end of his tour to the D-Day beaches which he was really keen on. He wore the uniform with pride," his father said yesterday.
They had discussed the risks their son faced "at length" and though devastated, they understood.
"If he had to go, it's better that it was doing something he loved," Mr O'Donnell said, flanked by his brothers, Barry and Wayne O'Donnell, and a brother-in-law, Trevor Farmer.
Friends, family and former comrades paid tribute to the "likeable rogue" they said was born to be in the army.
"He loved his work and loved the army," said Lieutenant Jamie Blackmoore, a member of the military police, who worked alongside him at the Burnham Military Camp last year.
"Tim loved to push the boundaries and pull a prank when ever the opportunity arose... His cheeky smile will never be forgotten."
He said his skills were second to none.
"No-one would question him ... He was competent, he knew all his drills, he had all the skills to back it up, he had the knowledge," Lt Blackmoore said.
"Obviously, he got himself into bits of trouble as every soldier does, but he just knew it all."
Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force Lieutenant-general Jerry Mateparae described him as a "free spirit".
One year into his career - in November 2006 - Lt O'Donnell was deployed to the New Zealand peacekeeping force in Timor Leste, where he earned a Distinguished Service Decoration award for bravery.
Lt O'Donnell leaves a brother, Andrew, in Scotland, and sister, Anna, in their hometown of Feilding.
- Additional reporting by NZPA.
