NEW GLOUCESTER – A few weeks ago, Darrell Wetherbee called from Iraq and prepared his wife for the worst.

He might not get home alive.

He had worked for DynCorp International twice before, each time as a contract peacekeeper in Kosovo. For this year-long stint he would train police in Iraq.

Wetherbee was happy-go-lucky and brave, the kind of guy who loved a challenge. But in preparing for this mission he was quiet. Apprehensive.

“He had a bad feeling,” his wife Sheila said.

In war-torn Iraq, Wetherbee found turmoil, violence, snipers. When he called home, he was sure he’d never be with his wife and three children again.

“He said it was like nothing he’d ever seen and he was not coming home,” she said.

On Sunday, three months after he arrived in Iraq, a few weeks after he made that call home, Wetherbee’s bad feeling came true. He was shot by a sniper, killed as he stood outside a police station near Tikrit.

Wetherbee was 46.

“I can’t say why he decided to go, why he stayed. I have no good answer for that,” his wife said.

Born and raised in Oregon, Wetherbee moved to Maine when he was in his early 20s. He served in the Marine Corps from 1978 to 1986, according to a DynCorp spokesman. In 1991 he joined the Freeport Police Department.

“Darrell was a fun-loving guy. Always happy-go-lucky. Always cheerful,” said Gerald Schofield, Freeport police chief and a longtime friend who bonded with Wetherbee over fishing trips.

Wetherbee was a dedicated police officer who “would always try to go the extra mile for people,” Schofield said. He was good at patrol. He liked the challenge of criminal investigations.

After he left the police force in 1999, Wetherbee opted for a new challenge: DynCorp International.

“He saw it as an opportunity to expand his knowledge in law enforcement,” Schofield said. “I think he thought he could help somebody.”

Wetherbee joined DynCorp, a Virginia-based company that does security work overseas. Between 1999 and 2003, he spent three-and-a-half years as a peacekeeper in Kosovo.

“Darrell always just lived large and Darrell was brave. Darrell was never afraid,” his wife said.

Then, this summer, the New Gloucester man signed up for a year in Iraq. This time he would serve as a mentor to local police.

It was different from the start.

“He left the most apprehensive this time,” his wife said.

There was one bright spot. Wetherbee’s 24-year-old son was in the Air Force and was scheduled to serve in Iraq. The two could be together.

But Wetherbee’s own tour wasn’t going well. He was worried about the turmoil that raged around him. He was very worried about snipers.

On Sunday, his wife and three children, ages 24, 22 and 11, learned that he had been killed.

“We’re all still in shock,” his wife said.

Wetherbee’s oldest son is still scheduled to serve in Iraq. The family hopes now that will change.

Wetherbee was the 29th DynCorp employee to die in Iraq since 2003. Just under 30 people with ties to Maine have died there in three years.

The family is making service arrangements now. In lieu of flowers, they have asked for contributions to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund at www.nleomf.com.