Family
and friends of Army Capt. Cory J. Jenkins, a 2003 graduate of BYU, are
paying tribute to the 30-year-old physician assistant who was killed in
Afghanistan earlier this week.
"Cory was very much a people person," said his father, Stanley Jenkins, of Mesa, Ariz.
The
Pentagon said Cory Jenkins died Tuesday in southern Afghanistan of
wounds suffered when the vehicle he and three other soldiers were
riding in hit an improvised explosive device. Jenkins was assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd
Infantry Division, at Fort Lewis, Wash.
__IMAGE1__He
leaves behind a wife, Brooke, and 2-month-old daughter, Reagan. Jenkins
was able to spend a month with his daughter before he was deployed to
Afghanistan five weeks ago, his father said.
Cory
Jenkins and his family were living in Steilacoom, Wash., near Fort
Lewis, where he was a Scoutmaster in his LDS Church ward before his
deployment, his father said. The soldier was an active member of the
LDS Church and had served a mission to Russia.
He
graduated from BYU with a bachelor's degree in conservation biology,
said BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins. He also graduated from A.T. Still
University's physician-assistant program, according to The Associated
Press.
Jenkins is the third former BYU student to die in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:
Navy Lt. Nathan White was killed in Iraq April 2, 2003, when his F/A-18 Hornet was shot down by an American Patriot missile
Army Capt. Bill Jacobsen Jr. died Dec. 21, 2004, when an insurgent detonated a bomb in an Army mess tent in Mosul, IraqStanley
Jenkins said his son was interested in medical service and felt the
military was the best way to get the training he needed.
"He
wanted to do what doctors do, but he wanted have a family life, as
well," the father said. "He had no regrets with anything he did. He
loved being in the military and serving with the men in the military."
Funeral services are pending but will probably be held sometime next week in Mesa.
e-mail: mhaddock@desnews.com