BEVERLY — The body of Army Spc. Stephen Fortunato was scheduled to be flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware early this morning in preparation for a military funeral in Beverly sometime next week, according to his family.

Elizabeth Crawford said her son's body was due to arrive in Delaware at 5 this morning after being flown to Germany from Afghanistan. The military will conduct an autopsy and then fly the body to Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford in two or three days, Crawford said.

Fortunato, a 25-year-old soldier and husband from Beverly, was killed on Tuesday in Afghanistan when a bomb blew up the military vehicle in which he was riding. As his family mourned his loss yesterday and prepared for his burial, they were still awaiting more details on exactly how Fortunato died.

Military officials have told the family that Stephen and two other soldiers were killed when their Humvee, a military vehicle, was destroyed by a bomb while they were on patrol somewhere in Afghanistan. Richard Fortunato, Stephen's father, said the Army is investigating such questions as whether the bomb was on the side of the road and was triggered by somebody hiding nearby, or whether it was in the road and exploded when the Humvee drove over it.

Richard Fortunato said it's also not clear who was driving the vehicle. Since Stephen Fortunato was a gunner, his normal position was riding atop the Humvee manning a 50-caliber machine gun, his father said.

"He was the one right out in plain view and the most vulnerable," Richard Fortunato said. "He was the most exposed, but he was the one looking out for the safety of the truck."

'A great son'

Yesterday, small American flags were stuck in the ground around the front yard of the home on Cleveland Road in Ryal Side where Stephen Fortunato grew up. Beverly High School Principal Sean Gallagher released a statement saying, "The Beverly community is deeply saddened by the news of Stephen Fortunato's death."

Fortunato graduated from Beverly High in 2002.

"Spc. Fortunato will be fondly remembered by all those who had the good fortune of knowing him," Gallagher said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Fortunato family during this difficult time. Spc. Fortunato bravely served his country and gave the ultimate sacrifice protecting our freedom."

Richard Fortunato, who lives in Spring Hill, Fla., said he received an e-mail from his son on Monday with a "wish list" of items his son could use, such as razor blades and shaving cream. When he got home the next day after shopping for some of those items, he was visited by a captain, a first sergeant and a chaplain from the Army, informing him that Stephen had been killed.

"He was a great son," Richard said. "He never disrespected me. He was an awesome kid."

Fortunato attended Ayers Ryal Side Elementary School in Beverly before moving to Danvers to live with his father. He attended middle school in Danvers and three years at Danvers High School before transferring to Beverly High School in his senior year.

After graduating in 2002, Fortunato worked various retail jobs, including a newspaper stand at the mall, at Sears and at the Burlington Coat Factory. He enlisted in the Army in August 2005, fulfilling his dream of serving in the military.

"He always wanted guns when he was a kid, and of course I wouldn't let him have any," Crawford said. "When he went to basic training, he sent me a picture of him holding a rifle. I think it was a stab at me in his funny, comical way."

Fortunato was sent to Korea, returning home midway through his one-year tour to marry Sherri Favaloro of Gloucester. The couple lived at Fort Hood, Texas, for a year before Fortunato was shipped out to Afghanistan in July.

Mark Ruiz of Danvers, who was best man at Fortunato's wedding, said Stephen was a faithful friend who loved music.

"We got away with a lot of stuff, those adventures that one friend has with another," Ruiz said. "The kid had the utmost direction in his life. He wanted something, and he got it. Anything you wanted in a friend, this kid provided."

Family's military tradition

Fortunato came from a large, well-known Beverly family with a long history of service to both the city and the country. Five Fortunato brothers — Stephen's grandfather and his four great-uncles — all served in the military during World War II or Korea.

Three of them went on to hold well-known positions with the city in the 1970s and '80s — Peter as mayor, Armand as superintendent of schools and Stephen as the head custodian for the schools.

In 1999, the city dedicated a flagpole at McKeown School in honor of the three brothers and their more than 80 years of combined service to the city and its schools.

Peter Fortunato served three terms as mayor from 1978 to 1983. He was also a decorated soldier in World War II. When he died in 1999, friends and family told the story of how he volunteered to walk through a minefield in Sicily to rescue an Italian woman whose husband had been killed.