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Chief Petty Officer Gregory S. Billiter was a competitor who loved nothing better than to beat somebody at something, according to his father.

"Every duty station he was at, he would either get into some kind of race or the group he was with would compete with other groups," said Barry Billiter of Villa Hills, Ky.

Billiter, 36, and two other sailors were killed by enemy action April 6 during combat operations in Kirkuk, Iraq. He was on his third tour of duty as a member of Explosive Ordnance Unit 11, charged with defusing bombs on Iraqi soil. He was a 15-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, joining shortly after graduating from the University of Dayton with a degree in marketing in 1991.

Billiter was only 19 when he earned his UD degree after just three years. A northern Kentucky native of Villa Hills, he graduated from Covington Latin High School in 1987.

"His birthday was early, he was in school early, and at Latin they usually advance a year or two," said the elder Billiter. "Why'd he choose UD? His friends went there, and he liked the mighty Dayton Flyers."

Billiter played basketball and soccer in high school, focusing on intramural sports while at UD — "He almost made the UD basketball team," his father said.

"After he graduated, he couldn't find a job that felt right," Barry Billiter said. "He came home one night and said, 'I got a job. I'm in the Navy.' It was a little surprising."

Billiter also is survived by his wife, April, and son Cooper, 3; his parents, Barry and Mary Patricia; three brothers and two sisters. Funeral arrangements have yet to be finalized, according to his father.

"The thing is, Greg was doing what he wanted to do," Barry Billiter said. "It was his life's work. He believed he was making a difference doing what he was doing.

"How can you argue with that?"