A Marine from this southern Illinois community was killed recently while serving in Iraq, family members said.

Cpl. Matthew Wyatt, 21, was killed on Friday when a car bomb exploded while he was patrolling the Iraq-Jordan border, the Belleville News-Democrat reported.

Matthew Wyatt left for Iraq in September and called home frequently, his mother, Verlene Wyatt, said Sunday. The last time they spoke was the day after Thanksgiving.

“He always tried to be a comedian,” she said Sunday as she flipped through a photo album looking at pictures of her son. “He loved the crazy humor of Jim Carrey. Sometimes I think he thought he was Jim Carrey.”

Verlene Wyatt said Sunday that she learned of her son’s death late Friday night from Matthew Wyatt’s father, who is also in the Marines.

Becky Dori said Matthew Wyatt and her son had been friends since they were young boys.

“Anthony and Matt started kindergarten together and went all the way through high school together,” she said. “They played baseball, they ran track. They even shared a school record on the track team.”

And they became Marines together.

Six weeks after graduating from Belleville West High School in 2001, Wyatt entered the Marines. Two months later, Tony Dori went to boot camp. He is now on active duty, stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Proceeds from the CPL Matthew A. Wyatt bracelet will be donated to Legacies Alive.