SKIATOOK -- Patricia Powers said she never received a written word from her son while he served in Iraq.

But it wasn't for lack of effort. A letter simply didn't have time to reach her within the short time he was there.

Army Pfc. Joshua Francis Powers, 21, of Skiatook died Saturday in southern Baghdad. He had been in the country about 2 ¹/2 weeks.

His family was unaware of the circumstances of his death.

"It (military service) was different than what he thought it would be," Patricia Powers said of her son, a member of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. "But he was meeting that responsibility."

Powers had joined the Army in July. A Skiatook High School dropout who was "extremely bright," he immersed himself in the books after he decided to become a soldier, his mother said.

"He studied for about a month and passed his GED," she said. "He had a real high score. We were real proud of him for doing that."

Joshua Powers, who liked video games and comedies, celebrated a birthday Feb. 11. He was the youngest of three siblings, all boys, his mother said.

Services for Powers are pending with Sien-Shelton Funeral Home in Skiatook.

A spokesman for the home said Powers' body is scheduled to be returned to the United States late this week.