Jang Ho Kim remembered

Jang Ho Kim was an energetic kid, often getting into mischief at Sunday school and hopping from one interest to another.

He later grew up to be a calm and brave young man, though he longed to forge his own path in life, his father, Seop Kim said Friday.

Just after a semester at Fullerton College, Kim pondered whether to complete his college education or to serve in the military.

He chose the latter, after weeks of praying and seeking advice from his family.

"He wanted to get momentum in his life because I think his character (was to be) active in his mind," his father said.

Two weeks after he made his decision to enlist, Kim left for basic training in June 2005.

"He (wanted) to go to battle, but as a father, I didn't want him to go to a dangerous area," Seop Kim said.

After a stint in Germany, 20-year-old Kim was sent to Iraq in August. But he never told his parents that he was an infantryman on the frontlines in Baghdad.

They learned Monday, when two men in uniform appeared at their Placentia home.

Pfc. Kim, a member of the Army's 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, had died that day from injuries suffered when a homemade bomb exploded near his vehicle in Baghdad.

There have been 2,855 U.S. casualties in Iraq as of Friday, according to the Department of Defense Web site.

"In my heart, he's still a baby, he's still young," his father said. "I found that after his death, he was already grown up."

It took awhile to believe, but an Army sergeant confirmed that Jang Ho had been killed during a combat operation in Baghdad.

Since learning of their son's death, Seop and his wife, Sang Soon, have held vigils at their home with fellow parishioners of Grace Korean Church, where the couple is active.

Their living room, adorned with flower arrangements, is a central meeting place where daily prayers take place. Atop a fireplace mantel is an enlarged photo of a smiling soldier in camouflage, his face pockmarked by acne and his trademark, prominent ears revealed by a buzz cut.

The family immigrated to the United States from Seoul, South Korea, in 1990. Seop Kim's job transfer placed them in New York for a few years before they moved to Orange County.

The couple also has a 19-year-old daughter, Michelle Jang Mi Kim, a second-year student at UCLA.

Plans for a Nov. 27 funeral are pending. The family plans to bury Kim at Riverside National Cemetery.

From the Orange County Register

Related Link:
Jang Ho Kim killed by I.E.D.