Corey J. Aultz dies of injuries from I.E.D.

When Sgt. Corey Aultz was growing up in Port Orchard, he looked out for his big sister, Tamra, often playing the role of the older sibling.

The 12-year Army veteran saw his job in Iraq in a similar light. He was there to protect those around him. In fact, Aultz spent his working life in the military, trying to keep the peace in global hot spots, such as Kosovo and Bosnia.

"You know I am just trying to do the best I can and keep people as safe as I can," Tamra Aultz recalled him saying.

Last Tuesday, the 31-year-old died from wounds he suffered when a bomb exploded near his armored car in Ramadi. He was on his second tour of Iraq.

Aultz came from a tight military family, and his own life revolved around his 6-year-old daughter and wife in Germany, where he was based for the last 11 years. After a few years in Germany, Aultz decided to make that country his home, marrying a native and settling in the Bavarian town of Münnerstadt.

"Every time I talked to him he was hanging out with his daughter," Tamra Aultz said. "She was his world."

While he didn't necessarily enlist for a career, "I think that after awhile it just became like, 'Yeah, this was what I was meant to do,' " Tamra Aultz said.

Aultz, who served with the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division based in Schweinfurt, Germany, is the 153rd member of the armed forces with close ties to Washington to die in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion.

"He was a good person, and we are proud of him," Tamra Aultz said.

Memorial services will be held in Germany.

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