WINTER HAVEN, Fla.—Friends, family, and others gathered on March 18 to welcome home Army Reserve Maj. Cody Khork, who was slain while serving in the ongoing war with Iran.
Standing on the side of the road waving American flags, hundreds of people watched a procession roll by on the roughly 30-minute drive from Lakeland Linder International Airport to a nearby funeral home. Among those attending were law enforcement officers, military comrades, and strangers.
Khork, 35, was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command and received a posthumous promotion to the rank of major following his death. He is one of 13 U.S. service members to lose their lives in the conflict. He died during an Iranian drone attack in Kuwait on March 1.
Laura Dantin, a U.S. Navy veteran who served for 20 years, helped set out small American flags lining the roadways. She didn’t know Khork personally but referred to him and other fallen U.S. soldiers as her family.
“Every single one of them are my brothers,” Dantin told The Epoch Times.
As part of her military service, Dantin spent time in California, Alaska, Guam, and Canada.
“During several wars—unfortunately, I was part of those conflicts—I saw so many of my friends and people pass,” Dantin said. “It’s the best thing that you just show support to the family. You honor the veteran, and you respect the family.”
Another woman, Karen Kaaa, drove up from Tampa to help others place American flags on Khork’s procession route. She told The Epoch Times she comes from a military family and felt an obligation to show her support for the fallen American soldier.
“I grabbed as many flags as I could and came out. It’s very important,” Kaaa said.
Kaaa’s son served in the Marines, one brother served in the Air Force, and another brother and her father both served in the Army.
“I was the only car here first, and just as I started putting things out, then everybody started to come,” Kaaa said.
It’s been nearly three weeks since Khork was killed by the Iranian drone strike on the port of Shuaiba, Kuwait.
The Army reservist was among the first U.S. soldiers to be killed in Operation Epic Fury, a joint military operation with Israel to dismantle the Islamist Iranian regime. Five other soldiers died in the Iranian drone strike on March 1.
Those troops were Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa.
“Their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of their families, will never be forgotten,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, chief of the Army Reserve and commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command.
Khork first enlisted in 2009 to the National Guard as a multiple launch rocket system and fire direction specialist. In 2014, he was commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve, earning several awards, including the Meritorious Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Service Medal.
He and the remains of the other five killed in Kuwait were first flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on March 7 for a dignified transfer, where President Donald Trump paid tribute to the fallen soldiers.
“They’re great heroes in our country, and we’re going to keep it that way,” Trump said on the day.
As of the latest update, U.S. officials said about 200 American soldiers have been wounded in the conflict.
“When it comes to war, there’s always that,” Trump said. “We’re going to keep it to a minimum.”
Khork’s funeral service is set for March 21 in Winter Haven, Florida.
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