Two decorated Navy SEALs, both 29 and both with Pennsylvania ties, died in the same action in Iraq on Monday in which a third SEAL was injured.

Michael E. Koch of State College, Centre County, and Nathan H. Hardy of New Hampshire, whose family once lived in Moon, were killed by small-arms fire while battling insurgents, the Navy said.

Their immediate relatives were visiting the SEAL East Coast base in Hampton Roads, Va., yesterday, and the Navy said they would not be available.

Petty Officer Koch, whose father, Donald Koch, is a retired U.S. Air Force veteran in Coudersport, Potter County, was last home at Christmas to visit relatives in the Williamsport area.

"I was so thankful that we had that time together," said his grandmother, Dolores Koch, 74, of Jersey Shore, Lycoming County. "The last thing I said to him was, 'Be careful.' He said, 'I am, Gram.' "

The Navy would not release any details of how he or Chief Petty Officer Hardy died.

Petty Officer Koch, who joined the Navy in 1998 after attending Penn State for a year-and-a-half, didn't reveal anything about his missions, his family said.

Nor did he discuss the medals he won, including the Bronze Star. Both men earned that medal and wore it proudly.

"He never talked about all these decorations I'm reading about," said Mrs. Koch.

Both men had served in Afghanistan and Kosovo before deploying to Iraq, and both came from families with strong traditions in the armed forces.

Petty Officer Koch was born on an Air Force base in Nebraska, as was his sister, Tiffany Barnard, 24, and grew up on bases around the country. His father had recently returned from his job with a military contractor in Iraq, where Petty Officer Koch's brother, Matthew Koch, 26, has also been working after a six-year Navy career.

In addition, Petty Officer Koch's mother, Jean Ann Burkholder of Corinth, Texas, is serving in Afghanistan as an accountant for a U.S. contractor.

She was en route to Hampton Roads this week while Matthew flew home with his brother's body.

In addition to his family, Petty Officer Koch left behind his fiancee of eight years, Kathy Howell, of Virginia Beach, Va.

Petty Officer Hardy, the father of a 7-month-old son, Parker, with his wife, Mindi, had a similar military pedigree.

Both his grandfathers served in World War II, one of them aboard PT-109 in the Pacific with John F. Kennedy.

Growing up hearing tales of the famous torpedo boat, cut in half by a Japanese destroyer, he had wanted to join the Navy ever since the sixth grade. He enlisted in 1997 after graduating from high school in Durham, N.H.

His parents, Stephen and Donna Hardy, had already endured the heartache of losing a child. Petty Officer Hardy's older brother, Josh, died of brain cancer in 1993 while a senior in high school. Another older brother, Ben, lives in Vermont.

The family had lived in Moon during the 1980s, when Stephen Hardy headed the sports management program at what was then called Robert Morris College, from 1982 to 1988.

They moved when he took a job at the University of New Hampshire, where he is a professor of kinesiology. His mother is an administrative assistant in the school's psychology department.

"We know it was Nate's dream to become a U.S. Navy SEAL when he graduated from high school, and he pursued that dream and excelled at it," University of New Hampshire President Mark Huddleston said in a statement. "His death has stunned all who knew him, and all who know his parents, who both are so much a part of the UNH community."

In Virginia, the news hit the SEAL community hard. The SEALs consider themselves a brotherhood; there are only about 2,500 of them.

"Chief Michael Koch and Chief Nathan Hardy were ... brave SEALs, honored teammates and great Americans," their commanding officer said in a press release. "They paid the ultimate sacrifice in the fight against the enemies of our great nation."