WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The body of U.S. Army Capt. Cody Khork, 35, and Polk County native, is set to return home on Wednesday.
Capt. Khork is set to arrive at the Lakeland Linder International Airport sometime after 1 p.m., according to a social media post.
Capt. Khork will receive an escort to Oak Ridge Funeral Home in Winter Haven. The escort is expected to take around two hours once they leave the airport.
On Wednesday, March 18, 2026, @USArmyReserve Captain Cody Khork – who was killed in the line of duty serving his country in the Middle East – will return home to Polk County.
— Polk County Sheriff 🚔 Grady Judd (@PolkCoSheriff) March 17, 2026
Sometime after 1:00 p.m. that afternoon, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and partnering agencies will… pic.twitter.com/pNThURIrLg
The U.S. Department of Defense announced earlier this month that Khork and five others were killed in Kuwait. The Department of Defense says it happened during an “unmanned aircraft system attack.”
The soldiers were supporting Operation Epic Fury.
Friends of Capt. Khork called him his best friend, son, and true leader.
News 6’s Tylisa Hampton talked to one of those friends, who told her Khork was more than a soldier.
“He was a true leader. He was a true commander,” said Khork’s friend, Winfred Lee Ross. “My brother has turned into a real superhero in my eyes, and at the end of the day, my heart will always fly half-staff for him.”