(February 9, 2007)--Navy corpsman Gilbert Minjares, Jr. told his brother that if he died in Iraq, he wanted his two children to know he served so they could grow up free and without fear.

The 31-year-old and six others died Wednesday just seven days after he reached Iraq in a helicopter crash in Al Anbar Province the Department of Defense said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Jose Minjares, Gilbert's brother, said, "He gave me all his clothes and stuff, like he knew what was going to happen. He told me, 'If anything happens, I want you to let my kids know I did it for them."'

Minjares is survived by his wife, a two-year-old son, and a four-week-old baby living in North Carolina, according to the seaman's cousin.

Jose Minjares says his brother worked as a recruiter in El Paso.

A corpsman is the Marines' equivalent of an Army medic.

Minjares was assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing in Cherry Point, North Carolina.

Minjares played fullback and quarterback at Hanks High School in El Paso.

His brother says Minjares joined the Navy about a month after graduating in 1994.

Military officials said late Friday that the Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter likely experienced mechanical failure, although insurgent groups have claimed responsibility for shooting down the chopper.

Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said eyewitness accounts combined with flight data and other factors led to that conclusion.

"So the response of the aircraft leads the people on the ground to believe, early in the investigation, that it was mechanical," he said.

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