Rob Stafford: At what age did you know that David was going to be a soldier? 

Jim Salie: About two years old.  

Stafford: Two years old? 

Jim Salie: Yeah, I was in the Gulf of Tonkin, got a picture of him, and he was standing in the bathtub saluting.... 

The family's intense patriotism grew even stronger after 9/11. The Salies steadfastly support the war on terror and the fight in Iraq.

Jim Salie: Duty. Honor. Country.

Younger brother, Brian, had logged five years in the service and as the war in Iraq began, he was out of the Army in the Reserves and out of harm’s way. That did not stop him from volunteering to fight in Iraq last summer.

Older brother David was also out of harm’s way, working as a paratrooper instructor at Fort Benning. But last fall as the war intensified, he too decided to volunteer for a unit he knew was going to war — to leave the safety of his teaching job and his wife, Deanna, and the children he loved.

Deanna Salie: I told him, I said, "I'll kill you if you do this." And he told me, "You don't-- you don't understand, and I don't expect you to understand."

Sgt. David Salie's resolve was unshaken. Last January, he and his men were ready to go to Iraq. But his confident face masked disturbing feelings.

Deanna Salie: I told him, you know, "Dave, something's going on. Something's not right and you need to tell me." And he's like — he told me, "No, you've already got enough on you. I don't want to put anything else on you."

As David made his last preparations to go he secretly left something behind that would tell a story of commitment and courage. Then in January, he shipped out, joining his younger brother Brian, who was already in Iraq.

With two sons at war, every casualty report worried dad, Jim Salie. But for reasons he couldn't explain, on Valentine’s Day this year he was especially concerned about the news from Iraq.

The story of that February day in Iraq began as brothers David and Brian headed out on separate missions in their Humvees — vehicles so often targeted by insurgents.

Younger brother Brian was traveling down a road in Baghdad, older brother David was in Baquba, 50 miles to the north. Then without warning, there was an explosion.

The Salie family, which had served in and survived every war the United States had fought in since Pearl Harbor, got the news every family fears. But they were shocked to hear it was not the inexperienced younger brother Brian, but older brother, David, larger than life, the seasoned combat veteran, who was killed instantly by a roadside bomb. Brian remembers being safely back at his base in Iraq when he got word.

Brian Salie: The company commander and Chaplin respectfully informed me that my brother was killed in action, on the day before.

At Fort Benning, Georgia, David's wife Deanna heard a knock at the door.

Deanna Salie: I opened the door and they asked if they could come in. I swear to God, it's like the movies. They opened a book and as soon as they said, "Regrets to inform you," I hit the floor. I couldn't even stand up.

Brian escorted his older brother’s body back from Iraq for the funeral at Fort Benning, not far from the place where they played Army as kids. He fought to keep his composure as he presented the American flag to his brother's widow, Deanna.

Brian Salie said: "It is my distinct honor to present this flag to you in recognition of Sgt. Salie, your husband, my brother, and my parents’ first born son, for his faithful service to this nation."

After David's death, Deanna couldn't stop thinking about the disturbing conversation she had with her husband shortly before he shipped out to Iraq. At the time she dismissed it as pre-war jitters, but now it haunted her.

Deanna Salie: And he just told me, he says, "Didi, I'm not coming back."                     

An eerie premonition that caused a hardened soldier to make sure his family knew how much they meant to him and how right he felt about what he was doing, even in the face of death. David was gone, but it turned out his memory lived on through an extraordinary gift he left behind.

The night before David left, in a room by himself, he secretly recorded video messages for his family to be locked away and viewed only if he died.

On the videotape, he said:

David Salie: "If you are looking at this one, then I'm not coming home… I feel in my heart, that what I have done was the right thing to do."

David was acutely aware of the pain his death would inflict on his wife and children.

David Salie on video: "Yeah, you're without a daddy in person, but I'm always with you. You're without a husband in person, but I'm always with you.”

David's message from the grave made what happened next all the more challenging. Under the Army's sole survivor policy, Brian could choose to do his service back home near his family. And his 5-year-old daughter made it clear that was exactly what she wanted him to do.

Rob Stafford: "What do you say to her?"

Brian Salie: "Everything is going to be okay. Regardless of what happens, everything is going to be OK."

His decision was clear: He would return to Iraq. Two brothers born to serve — and one was still fighting. The other's legacy lived on through the words they shared.

Brian Salie: We told each other how much we loved each other, how proud we were of each other, and return with honor. Whether it's living or dying, we're going to return with honor. 

"Return with honor" Brian did. He recently completed his tour in Iraq and is back home with his family. After enjoying a well earned vacation, he returned to his old civilian job last week. Despite all that happened, he says, he is grateful he got to serve.