Name of soldier killed in Afghanistan added to BYU memorial

PROVO — Sixty-two former BYU students died in the Vietnam War.

Ten more died in the Korean War, as well as one during the Gulf War and two in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

All of their names, along with those BYU alumni who died in the world wars, hang in BYU's Memorial Hall to commemorate their sacrifice.

On Friday, Capt. Cory J. Jenkins' name was added to Memorial Hall in a new section, as the first BYU student to be killed while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Jenkins, 30, was killed in southern Afghanistan on Aug. 25, 2009, 38 days after he deployed, when the vehicle he and three other soldiers were riding in hit an improvised explosive device. Jenkins was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, at Fort Lewis, Wash.

When he started as a student at BYU in 2001, Jenkins struggled to decide between a career in medicine or education. Either way, his family says, he just wanted to help people.

"I don't think Cory was after recognition," said Cindy Leavitt, Jenkins' aunt. "He just wanted to know he made a difference in people's lives."

After graduating from BYU, Jenkins went to graduate school at A.T. Still University and graduated as a physician's assistant. He joined the military in October 2007, telling family members he wanted to help wounded soldiers.

At Friday's memorial service, retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Robert C. Oaks tearfully said he regrets not having known Jenkins.

"I feel deprived in some small way that I didn't know Capt. Jenkins," said Oaks, a former member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Second Quorum of the Seventy. "He was special in his life. … I can see that just from reading the program."

Jenkins married Brook Stott in December 2007, and the couple had a daughter, Reagan, in June 2009. On the program for Friday's memorial, Reagan was listed as Jenkins' greatest achievement.

Doug Mills, a BYU ROTC graduate preparing to serve in the Army, said knowing Jenkins had a family made seeing a fellow BYU student's name added to the wall sobering.

"It's not unfair, because (Jenkins) was doing his duty and his job," Mills said, "but it's hard to know he sacrificed so much more."

Oaks said Jenkins "stands tall in a line of heroes."

"He was in a job normally called on to care for casualties, not normally called to be casualties," he said.

Jenkins' name will remain in BYU's Memorial Hall to serve as a reminder to future students of the sacrifices made for their freedom.

"I hope he did not die in vain," said Nell Bee, another of Jenkins' aunts. "I hope something good comes from this."

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