Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends - John 15:13

Those were the words Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Swanson wrote at the end of e-mails to his family.

The scripture, a favorite of the 25-year-old soldier who died Saturday in Iraq, best captures his spirit, said Glenn Swanson, his uncle.

“He was always worried about his men and their families,” he said.

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Staff Sgt. Swanson, who was raised in Rose Haven, died in an ambush in the Anbar province of Iraq Saturday, his family said. He was on his third tour of Iraq.

About 40 soldiers from Maryland have died in the war in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense.

Staff Sgt. Swanson moved to Anne Arundel County as a first grader and lived in Rose Haven throughout high school, his uncle said.

As an adolescent, he was active in his church, the First Baptist Church of Upper Marlboro. Growing up, Staff Sgt. Swanson would regularly go on missions projects with his youth group.

“He was very committed to the Lord,” Glenn Swanson said.

He also loved sports — mostly the Ravens and the Orioles — and was captain of his high school soccer team. In his junior year at Southern High School, which he graduated from in 1999, Staff. Sgt. Swanson started talking to his family about enlisting. His family has a history of public service — his grandfather and grandmother worked for the FBI, and his father is a police officer.

Three months after graduation, Swanson enlisted in the Army.

“He was a man that knew his mission — he knew what he wanted to do, that was the thing about him that kind of stood out. He wanted to be there with his men,” Glenn Swanson said.

After graduation, Staff Sgt. Swanson went to Fort Bragg, N.C., where he was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division.

He was then assigned to Kosovo and later deployed with the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, his uncle said.

He came back in October and was deployed again a month later, his uncle said. His third tour of Iraq began in November 2005.

Staff Sgt. Swanson received two Purple Hearts — one two weeks ago when he injured his leg in a Humvee accident, his uncle said.

“He was such a great joy to our family. He loved the military, and was happy doing what he wanted to do,” said his grandfather Roger Swanson.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church of Upper Marlboro. Staff Sgt. Swanson will be buried at the Arlington National Cemetery following the service.

mmcilroy@baltimoreexaminer.com