A soldier killed by an explosive taken from an Iraqi girl in Baghdad was eulogized today as a hero, a family man and “country boy” during a simple funeral in Yucca Valley. Red, white and blue bouquets flanked the flag-draped casket of Army Sergeant Troy Jenkins.

The service included a playing of Dolly Parton´s “Coat of Many Colors.” Jenkins was 25. He will be buried later today at Riverside National Cemetery. The presiding minister was Elder Willard Darnell of the Ridgecrest Church of Christ. He is the grandfather of Jenkins´ widow, Amanda. Darnell said, “Troy was a very simple person. He didn´t want the fancy stuff. Troy did not pretend to be something he wasn´t. He was a down-to-earth country boy.”

A paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division, Jenkins died April 23rd of wounds suffered in an explosion that remains under investigation. Several other soldiers and the child were wounded.