LAKELAND, Fla. — Thirteen Americans have died in the war with Iran. One of those soldiers is from Florida. And now, his alma mater is making sure no one forgets his sacrifice.
Army Reserve Capt. Cody Khork was killed when Iran used a drone to strike at U.S. forces in Kuwait in the first hours of the war.
He was 35 years old.
“We met though the fraternity and through ROTC and kind of -- we just clicked from day one and we’ve just been best friends ever since,” Abbas Jaffer said.
Jaffer said Khork will always be his best friend. The two met at Florida Southern College in Lakeland.
“He was very accepting,” Jaffer said. “He doesn’t care what you look like, you know, what you do, where you come from. He just kind of accepts you for, you know, just who you are.”
They remained close after college with Khork always ready to lend a hand.
“There were times when we lived together in school and outside of school where I couldn’t pay for my part of the utilities or I couldn’t pay my part of the rent,” Jaffer said. “And he, you know, didn’t have very much money himself and he would still, you know, he would be like, ‘AJ, it’s going to be alright. We’ll figure it out.’”
When Jaffer got married, Khork was by his side.
And when he died, he and Khork’s family worked together to honor his memory.
“When we were kind of thinking of things that we wanted to do to honor him, and you know the first thing we could think of that could last forever, just like giving to everyone, was a scholarship,” Jaffer said.
The Captain Cody Khork ROTC Scholarship will go to a Florida Southern College student who embodies his leadership and compassion.
His father, James said, “there’s no greater heartbreak than losing a son. With that said, there’s no greater pride in knowing who he was and what he stood for.”
To donate to the scholarship fund, click here.
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