Pfc. Jason Poindexter, a 20-year-old Marine from San Angelo, fought in Iraq less than a week before he was killed.

On Monday, a day after her son's death by enemy action in the Al Anbar Province, Poindexter's mother, Sharon Westbrook, recalled the last time she saw him in July.

He was home for two weeks leave from Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he had been assigned to the Second Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, First Marine Division of the First Marine Expeditionary Force.

"I wonder now did I spend enough time with him?" Westbrook said, her voice breaking with emotion. "Did I tell him I loved him enough?"

Poindexter was described by Westbrook as "a happy-go-lucky" son. He graduated from Lake View High School in San Angelo in May 2002. He played on the football team and ran track.

Poindexter joined the Marines Nov. 3. His personal award includes the National Defense Service Medal.

Westbrook said she tried to talk him out of joining but "he made up his mind to do it."

Boot camp was difficult, Westbrook said, because of her son's impish nature and his constant smile.

"He got in trouble a lot," she said. "He was born with this smile and he had a real hard time controlling it."

Just last week, Westbrook said her son appeared to be doing well in Iraq.

"He said for me not to worry, that he was just going over there to do a job and he'd be back in a few months," Westbrook said. "It was like he was going across town."

Along with his mother, Poindexter is survived by his father, Sam Poindexter, and two brothers, Travis and Robert.

Funeral arrangements were pending.