Relatives said Fortunato had varied motivations when he enlisted in the Army in 2005. He wanted to use the GI Bill to pay for college, he wanted real-life experience of combat, and he wanted to defend his country after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Fortunato, who was trained as a humvee gunner, was the oldest of three brothers and had been home on leave for three weeks in September. Fortunato was killed in Afghanistan on Oct. 14, 2008, when the vehicle he was riding in was hit by an improvised explosive device.