Durrell Bennett traded in a football jersey for a microphone at Spanaway's Bethel High School.

At age 17, he filled his free time with choir practice and impromptu performances with his rap group, Lavoi and Red.

When the musically inclined man enlisted in the Army at 19, he bought recording and production equipment with his first few paychecks.

And when he was later deployed on a 15-month tour of Iraq, he used his off-duty time to broadcast his beats to friends and family via his MySpace page.

"He was always posting music from Baghdad," said Bennett's 18-year-old brother, Darnell Bennett. "It's how we knew he was OK."

Spc. Durrell Bennett, 22, died Saturday in Baghdad from wounds suffered from an explosive device and small-arms fire, the Army said Tuesday.

He had been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kan.

A 2004 Bethel graduate, Spc. Bennett was less than two weeks from completing his 15-month tour when he was killed.

His father, former Army Ranger Dempsey Bennett, said his son had already packed up his prized music equipment and sent it to his family home in Spanaway.

The box postmarked Baghdad arrived just a few days before they learned their son had died.

"Durrell loved music, he produced music and wanted to do this professionally one day," Dempsey Bennett said Tuesday evening. "I knew he was close to coming home when that box arrived."

Music was not Spc. Bennett's only passion; he also excelled as a soldier. He was promoted three ranks in his first three years of service, his family said.

"I've got to give him props," said retired Army engineer Waymon Hawthorne, Spc. Bennett's uncle. "He got promoted fast because he was willing to take the reins on anything."

Dempsey Bennett said his son re-enlisted in December and planned to serve an additional six years, with the condition that he could be stationed at Fort Lewis so he could be closer to his friends and loved ones.

When he returned, Spc. Bennett had planned to rent an apartment, where he and brother Darnell, a senior at Bethel, could live after he graduated this year.

"He wanted to see me go to college," Darnell Bennet said. "He was going to let me stay with him and he was going to help pay for my college. He was going to get his life set and we were going to get things started together."

In addition to his father and brother, Spc. Bennett is survived by his mother, Doris Bennett.

A memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at By His Word Christian Center, 10110 Aqueduct Drive E. in Tacoma.

Karen Johnson: 206-464-2393 or karenjohnson@seattletimes.com