BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) – A Marine whose parents live in North Hero was shot dead by a sniper in the Iraqi city of Ramadi.

Lance Cpl. Adam Strain, 20, of Smartsville, Calif., had wanted to be a Marine since he could play with toy soldiers, his family said.

Strain grew up in California, but regularly traveled to Vermont visiting his mother’s side of the family. Two months ago, his parents moved to a North Hero home which Adam Strain never got to see.

“He was so proud to be a Marine,” said Karen Strain, his mother. “Since 9/11, he said he was going to do this for sure.”

“Terrorism got to him,” said Robert Strain, his father.

“I begged him not to” enlist, but he said, Someone has to stand up and fight, and that’s what I’m going to do,”‘ said Karen Strain.

Adam Strain was sent to Iraq seven months ago. He had been accepted to Norwich University, but opted instead to enlist. He wanted to be on the front lines, Robert Strain said.

On Wednesday, he was on foot patrolling an area in Ramadi, an insurgent stronghold 70 miles west of Baghdad in the Sunni Triangle. The area has become increasingly dangerous, and the military recently sent 1,000 Marines to fight the growing opposition. Earlier that day a roadside bomb killed 14 Marine reservists.

He was due to finish his tour and return to the United States in six weeks. His 21st birthday would have been Sept. 27. He and fiance Barbara Wycliffe would have married next June.

Adam Strain’s family grieved Friday at his grandparents’ New North End home in Burlington. They talked about his love for football. He was a varsity defensive end and a tight end for Nevada Union High School, a regional football powerhouse about an hour northeast of Sacramento.

He also played baseball as a pitcher and shortstop.

A memorial service for Strain is planned for Tuesday at the Burlington chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.