Lance Cpl. Eric J. Orlowski of Cheektowaga, her 26-year-old father and a U.S. Marine, was killed over the weekend in southern Iraq, apparently on the way to Baghdad, the victim of an accidental discharge of a .50-caliber machine gun.

"I tried to explain as much as I could to her," said her mother, Nicole Kross. "I told her that Daddy is in heaven now and he's with his grandpa and my mom, and he's looking down at all of us.

"It's hard to think about her growing up without a father," she added. "Once she's old enough to understand, she'll know that he went over there to fight for our country, because that's what he wanted to do. In her eyes, he'll always be a hero."

Eric Orlowski, who wanted to be a Marine from the time he was a little boy, died fulfilling his ambition.

He joined the Marines in February 2000. A member of the Marine Reserve, he was activated in January and served with the 2nd Tank Battalion of the 2nd Marine Division, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

"It made sense for him," said Michael Yelich, Orlowski's junior varsity football coach at West Seneca East High School. "He had that goal for a long time."

Although he wasn't a strong student, Orlowski was remembered as a hard worker, especially on the football field and at work - a tough guy with an aura of confidence and a reputation for never missing a day of work.

He grew up on Sprucewood Drive in Cheektowaga, and although he didn't graduate with his West Seneca East class in 1995, he later earned a GED. After high school, he worked for several companies, installing and manufacturing windows.

Even though Orlowski and Kross broke up in December after being together for seven years, he remained a devoted father to Cameryn.

"That was his whole life," Kross said.

Before being activated in January, Orlowski took his daughter every other weekend. And he delighted in taking her to the zoo, on shopping trips to the Walden Galleria, to Buffalo Sabres games and to Marineland and Darien Lake.

"He told her that when he came home, he was going to take her to Disney World," Kross said.

And he remained in close contact with his daughter, even after his Marine Reserve unit was activated.

Orlowski sent three letters from overseas to Kross and his daughter. And he spoke to Cameryn over the weekend, just hours before he was killed.

The telephone call came in the middle of the night, at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday, while Cameryn was sleeping over at her aunt's home. Orlowski reportedly told his sister to take care of his daughter if anything happened to him. He also called his mother at the same time.

Less than 18 hours later, his family learned that he had died.

"It's really ironic that he got to call home," Kross said. "He got the chance to say goodbye. I think somebody must have been watching over him."

The Defense Department wasn't providing any further details Monday about Orlowski's death. Family members, though, were told he "was shot by one of our own" as he got out of a tank, somewhere on the road to Baghdad.

"How can it be an accident?" Kross asked. "It would be better to know that it wasn't one of our own soldiers."

Yelich had the same reaction about his former defensive end.

"If it was going to happen to him, I'm sure he would have rather been right up in the forefront, where everything was going on," he said.

Wednesday night, after President Bush went on television briefly to talk about the beginning of the war, Kross wrote Orlowski a letter.

"I wrote that we were watching CNN, that Cameryn and I were OK, that we were very proud of him for what he was doing, that he would be in my thoughts and prayers, and I just wanted him to have a safe return home. Now he's never going to be able to see that letter."

Kross believes Orlowski was afraid of one thing while serving in the war region.

"He wasn't afraid of getting shot or anything," she said. "His biggest fear was leaving his daughter behind."

Monday, Kross asked Cameryn if she wanted to say anything about her Daddy.

The little girl shook her head no.

"You loved your Daddy?"

The little girl nodded her head vigorously.

Then she went off to chase her kitten.