The wife of a Brooklyn soldier who died in Iraq Monday mourns for her late husband.

Sgt. Darren Dhanoolal was killed by a roadside bomb just hours after sending his wife, Kynesha, a text message telling her he loved her.

?He wasn?t ready to go,? said Kynesha. ?He had his whole life. He had so much going for him. He was very smart?He wanted a family.?

Perhaps the thing she?ll best remember is her husband?s smile.

?If you were mad at him, he?d still be smiling and make you forget you were mad at him,? said Kynesha.

Dhanoolal?s friend, specialist Johnny Perez remembered him as a hero who saved his life in Iraq last June when his Bradley tank was attacked.

?If he wasn?t there, I would have probably lost my life,? said Perez. ?He opened up my hatch where I was and helped pull me out.?

Kynesha and Darren had been married three weeks when he was deployed to Iraq as a combat engineer in the 3rd Brigade. The two saw each other over Christmas before Darren had to return to duty. Kynesha says he was scheduled to return home in a few weeks.

The family is still making funeral arrangements.