FORT KNOX, Ky. -- Capt. Edward J. Korn never backed away from a challenge, and his volunteering to serve in Iraq was a glowing example of his bravery, Korn's former commanders said at a memorial service Friday, April 11.

Korn, 31, of Savannah, Ga., was killed in action in Iraq on April 3 while inspecting the wreckage of an Iraqi tank which was demolished by his unit.

"I referred to him as one of my pack mules," said Col. Robert Gahagan, chief of staff for the Army's Armor Center and Fort Knox. He was "the kind of guy that you could keep putting things on his back, and he'll keep walking with it. He led from the front, and he personified everything that's good in our young officers and our young captains today."

Korn's family, including his parents and his sister, Darlene Holt, of Bowman, attended the hour-long service at Fort Knox's 100-year-old Main Post Chapel. The family declined to speak with reporters after the service, which attracted more than 250 people, mostly active-duty soldiers and Marines in their camouflaged fatigues.

Army officials have released no other information about Korn's death.

Holt said Monday she was told her brother was accidentally killed while he was out of his tank. According to what she was told, Korn was hit when other Iraqi units appeared and tried to engage the U.S. tanks.

Korn's black boots, M-16 rifle and helmet were arranged at the altar in the church, next to plaques holding several awards and photographs. Included was a plaque Korn received in December for helping decorate the post's headquarters building during Christmas.

Korn worked at Fort Knox as an operations officer for the secretary of the general staff while waiting to attend an officer course there. But he elected to skip that training in March to accept a position with Central Command and from there, went to the 64th Armor, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

"He volunteered to join the Army while still in high school. That was his life, he was constantly volunteering," said Major John R. Zsido, Korn's direct supervisor at Fort Knox.

Zsido said as war in Iraq was brewing earlier this year, Korn was constantly in his ear, asking to go.

"He'd come to me and say, 'Sir, you've got to know someone, can you call someone?' because he wanted to join the war effort," Zsido said.

Zsido said once Korn learned that Fort Knox was in need of an officer to send to Central Command in Doha, Qatar, he "knew that was his ticket.

"He knew if he could get to Central Command, that he could work his way into a unit and work his way to the front, which is exactly what he did," Zsido said.

Korn first came to Fort Knox in 1988, for the Army's basic training. He served in the Persian Gulf War, and earned a bronze star while there.

Sgt. Douglas E. Kennedy, who worked with Korn last summer at Fort Knox, said Korn would have made general someday.

"He came in and took the bull by the horns and accepted every mission he was given," Kennedy said. "He was very analytical minded. It's a good trait for a battlefield commander, and he would have been a great battlefield commander."

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