OKLAHOMA CITY — A decorated soldier from Harrah who was nearing the end of his career in the military is the latest Oklahoma casualty in Iraq, his family said Sept. 26.

Staff Sgt. Kevin Brown, 38, died Sept. 25 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, after an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, the Department of Defense said.

Brown was assigned to the 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, based in Fort Hood, Texas. He was deployed to Iraq in October and had been with the unit since April 2006, Fort Hood officials said.

“He was looking forward to retirement, so he could be with his family forever,” said his mother, Glenda Brown. “My son also wanted to go fishing with his dad again.”

A Cavalry scout, Brown joined the military in 1988, a year after graduating from Harrah High School.

He was inspired to join the military by his father, Richard Haynes Brown, a senior master sergeant who retired at Tinker Air Force Base after 22 years of service, Glenda Brown said.

Kevin Brown’s birthday was coming up on Oct. 12, and the family had just sent him a birthday package the day he was killed, his mother said.

“He was fun to be around. He always made you laugh,” she said. “He had the bluest eyes in the world — bluer than the sky.

“He was never a grownup. He didn’t smoke and he didn’t drink. He was always a little boy at heart. He loved to have fun.”

Brown kept in contact with his family either by phone or e-mails, and they got to see him in February during a two-week leave, his mother said.

He didn’t talk much about Iraq, except to say he was doing his job, Glenda Brown said. It was his second time in Iraq, having also served a tour there in 2005, she said.

Kevin Brown earned the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, among others.

Besides his parents, Brown is survived by his wife, Lena, of Killeen, Texas; the couple’s daughters, Maria, 13, and Charlene, 14; a sister, Brandy Ross of Moore; and two stepchildren, Jeremy and Pamela.

A funeral will be held at the Brown family plot in Rineyville, Ky.