U.S. Army Reserve Maj. Cody Khork was laid to rest with military honors Monday afternoon at Florida National Cemetery.Khork, 35, was one of the first American service members to make the ultimate sacrifice during the war with Iran.With a motorcycle escort from Polk County, the hearse carrying Khork’s flag-draped casket arrived early Monday afternoon at the cemetery in Bushnell. Family, friends and hundreds of people gathered around the cemetery’s main assembly area. At the end of the ceremony, they lined up to pay their respects to the decorated soldier. “He led with integrity, he led with purpose, and he gave his life in service to his country,” Khork’s stepmother, Stacey Khork, said. “That’s not just sacrifice. That is legacy.”Khork and five other Army reservists were killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait on March 1. Their six bodies returned to U.S. soil together during a dignified transfer on March 7 at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Last Wednesday, Khork’s remains returned home to Polk County.The procession from Lakeland Linder International Airport went by his alma mater, Florida Southern College, before arriving at a funeral home in Winter Haven. Close friend and fraternity brother AJ Jaffer remembered Khork for his patriotism and the pride with which he served his country. “Khork had a calling to serve something greater than himself and that was the Army and to protect all of us,” Jaffer said during the memorial service. “If he had the chance to wear red, white and blue, he always seized it.”Stacey Khork delivered an emotional eulogy on behalf of the family. “He believed in doing the right thing even if it cost him something,” she said. “In the end, it cost him everything. But hear this: Cody is not defined by how he died. He’s defined by how he lived. He’s the one who made you laugh when you needed it the most. The one who showed up without being asked. The one who made people feel like they belong. A leader. Not because of rank, but because people trusted him.”An endowed ROTC scholarship has been set up in honor of Khork’s life, service and sacrifice at Florida Southern College.
U.S. Army Reserve Maj. Cody Khork was laid to rest with military honors Monday afternoon at Florida National Cemetery.
Khork, 35, was one of the first American service members to make the ultimate sacrifice during the war with Iran.
With a motorcycle escort from Polk County, the hearse carrying Khork’s flag-draped casket arrived early Monday afternoon at the cemetery in Bushnell.
Family, friends and hundreds of people gathered around the cemetery’s main assembly area. At the end of the ceremony, they lined up to pay their respects to the decorated soldier.
“He led with integrity, he led with purpose, and he gave his life in service to his country,” Khork’s stepmother, Stacey Khork, said. “That’s not just sacrifice. That is legacy.”
Khork and five other Army reservists were killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait on March 1.
Their six bodies returned to U.S. soil together during a dignified transfer on March 7 at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Last Wednesday, Khork’s remains returned home to Polk County.
The procession from Lakeland Linder International Airport went by his alma mater, Florida Southern College, before arriving at a funeral home in Winter Haven.
Close friend and fraternity brother AJ Jaffer remembered Khork for his patriotism and the pride with which he served his country.
“Khork had a calling to serve something greater than himself and that was the Army and to protect all of us,” Jaffer said during the memorial service. “If he had the chance to wear red, white and blue, he always seized it.”
Stacey Khork delivered an emotional eulogy on behalf of the family.
“He believed in doing the right thing even if it cost him something,” she said. “In the end, it cost him everything. But hear this: Cody is not defined by how he died. He’s defined by how he lived. He’s the one who made you laugh when you needed it the most. The one who showed up without being asked. The one who made people feel like they belong. A leader. Not because of rank, but because people trusted him.”
An endowed ROTC scholarship has been set up in honor of Khork’s life, service and sacrifice at Florida Southern College.