Army Sgt. Marvin Sprayberry, 24, Tehachapi

Growing up, Marvin R. Sprayberry III and his brothers loved to wrestle.

“Boy, we used to fight like there was no tomorrow,” said Shawn Sprayberry, 23, who shared a room with his older brother until seventh grade. “There was that one night when Dad cleared out the living room and said, ‘You guys want to fight? Have at it.’ ”

But, another brother, Jason Sprayberry, 26, said that no matter how much they fought, the brothers closed ranks against anyone else. “We wouldn’t let anyone do anything to one of our brothers,” he said. “We took care of one another.”

Shawn and Jason said that’s why they are having such a difficult time dealing with their brother’s death.

Marvin Sprayberry, 24, of Tehachapi was killed Monday when his military vehicle rolled down a hill and flipped into a canal in Balad, Iraq. The Army sergeant was a tank mechanic with the 4th Battalion of the 1st Armor Division in Vilseck, Germany.

Sprayberry joined the Army in June 1997 after graduating from Tehachapi High School.

His friend Michael Keith Badd, 25, remembered him as a well-meaning class clown who liked to give teachers a tough time and occasionally ditched school to cruise in his old Volkswagen Beetle. He said Sprayberry’s fascination with cars followed him to Germany. In calls home, Sprayberry would talk about driving on the autobahn.

Family members said Sprayberry loved Germany, where he met and two years ago married his wife, Nadja. The couple had planned to have another wedding celebration when Sprayberry finished his year in Iraq, his brother Jason said, adding that the soldier was to be transferred next to Washington state.

Sprayberry also is survived by his father, Marvin R. Sprayberry II, and stepmother, Lynn, of Tehachapi; along with his mother, Caryn Funkhouser; brother Arryn; great-grandmother Martha Schmidt; and grandfather Lawrence Elrich, all of Bakersfield.

Sprayberry will be buried May 14 at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.