Milo Ventimiglia: My USO Tour Pictures

Heroes hottie Milo Ventimiglia celebrated his 31st birthday earlier this month with some real-life heroes — U.S. soldiers!

The television star took a break from shooting his hit NBC series to visit the military troops on a USO tour, spending nearly a week in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. The troops even presented him with a birthday cake for his efforts!

“The tendency is for people to just read the news and talk about the war,” Milo has said. “That wasn’t enough for me. To be able to come out here and say ‘thank you’ was important to me. It made me really happy to see smiling faces. That’s what it is all about, knowing I made their day.”

He added, “My father’s a veteran, my uncle’s a veteran, my grandfather was a veteran. I nearly went into the Navy myself when I was 18. So I got a chance to go overseas and give the men and women of the armed forces a little bit of a respite.”

And apparently the troops keep up with Heroes! Milo shared, “When I was over in Iraq and Afghanistan, a lot of soldiers were like, `Dude, will you just kill Sylar already? Will you just get rid of him?’ And I’m like, `Man, I don’t know if you’re gonna want that just yet. I think you’re going to be very surprised as to what happens.’”

Milo Ventimiglia discusses ‘Heroes,’ Mideast trip

“Iron Man” isn’t the only superhero to visit the Middle East this summer. Milo Ventimiglia, who plays power-absorbing Peter Petrelli on NBC’s “Heroes,” traveled to the region last week as part of a USO tour of U.S. bases in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.He met many soldiers who were familiar with his show, and had strong opinions about his character’s nemesis, Sylar (played diabolically by Zachary Quinto).

“When I was over in Iraq and Afghanistan, a lot of soldiers were like, `Dude, will you just kill Sylar already? Will you just get rid of him?’” Ventimiglia told The Associated Press during a telephone interview this week. “And I’m like, `Man, I don’t know if you’re gonna want that just yet. I think you’re going to be very surprised as to what happens.’”

NBC-released video teasers for the series’ third season, premiering Sept. 22, promote the theme of the next “Heroes” chapter, titled “Villains.” In one clip, these ominous words pop up: “Good will battle evil. Because in every hero, there could be a villain.”

In that case, could Peter — one of the so-called good guys — wind up swapping places with Sylar?

Ventimiglia said he wouldn’t disagree with that theory. He also said Volume Three will be “so good” — a step in the right direction from season two, which was criticized heavily by fans for its draggy plotlines, among other complaints.

“I’m a tough critic,” Ventimiglia said. “The first season, I remember the producers would come up to me … after we’d all watch an episode, and they’d say, sort of, `What do you think?’ And I’d either hem or haw or say it was good or not. They kinda won me this year. The scripts are great, the feeling on set is nothing but fun. I mean, we’re really just doing some good work that I’m very proud of.”

The 31-year-old actor said returning to Los Angeles — and to work on “Heroes” — feels surreal after his weeklong USO tour. His travel compantions included NFL players Drew Brees, Osi Umenyiora and two Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

Blinded by the football star power, some soldiers would “look at me like I was an AP photographer because I was carrying around this gigantic camera with me all the time,” joked Ventimiglia, who snapped a “bunch of great shots” during his trip.

Milo Ventimiglia To Propose To Hayden Panettiere?

Milo Ventimiglia is reportedly planning to save Hayden Panettiere from spinsterhood by asking her to marry him!

The 31-year old Heroes hottie met his 18-year old co-star of the set of the sci-fi show and quickly became enamored with her.

And now he plans to take their relationship further by asking for her hand in marriage, according to In Touch.

A friend reveals that he would preferably like to be engaged this year, adding: “Milo was looking at rings in late June. He really likes Cartier and intends to spend around $200,000.”