DAVENPORT, Iowa – An Iowa native was killed in Iraq when a roadside bomb exploded near the Humvee he was riding in, his wife said.

Pfc. Michael Patrick Pittman, 34, was killed Friday in Baghdad.

His wife, Jennefer, said he was the only one killed in the explosion, which injured three other soldiers.

“I was pretty much in denial and I think I still am,” she said from her home in Fort Riley, Kan., where she lives with the couple’s four children. “He was a selfless person. He cared about everyone and loved giving to people. He encouraged everyone to do their best.”

Pittman was born in Davenport. He attended high school in Rock Island, Ill., and moved from the Quad Cities in 2005 when he enlisted in the Army.

Pittman was a member of the 1/4 Calvary Regiment based at Fort Riley.

His parents, Frank and Sandra Hughes, are pastors of Road to Recovery in Moline, Ill.

“I thought it was going to be someone else’s son, not Michael,” Sandra Hughes said. “I put him in God’s hands and I prayed.”

Jennefer Pittman said she was excited when her husband enlisted.

“I grew up military and I always wanted that for my kids, to be able to travel and be well cared for,” she said.

She said she spoke to her husband nearly every day since he was deployed in February – most recently four days before he died.

“He had his down times, but he was pretty much the one who was encouraging everybody. He was just always putting others in front of himself,” Jennefer Pittman said.

She said her husband will be cremated and a memorial service has been scheduled for next week in Kansas. She said services in the Quad Cities are pending.