Hundreds of people mourned the death of Army Staff Sergeant Yoon Jang-ho on March 5 (Monday) at a military hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where the funeral was held.

Yoon was killed on Feb. 27 by a suicide bomber at the main gate of a U.S. base in Bagram, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul.

"You were a sincere friend to your fellow soldiers and a true soldier who always made efforts to be a kind-hearted person," Eom Seon-ho, one of the soldier's friends, said in an emotional eulogy.

"You are now leaving us, but your bright smile and warm heart will always remain in our hearts," he said.

The funeral was attended by some 600 mourners, including bereaved family members, government and military officials, politicians and soldiers.

Yoon's parents burst into tears as their son's body was removed from the room after the funeral ended.

The body is to be cremated in Seongnam City, just south of Seoul, and buried at the National Cemetery in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, in a ceremony.

Yoon, the first Korean soldier to be killed abroad since the Vietnam War decades ago, has been posthumously promoted to staff sergeant. The U.S. government awarded Yoon the Bronze Star, a medal for meritorious service or bravery by soldiers in U.S. or allied forces.

As part of the U.S.-led coalition, about 60 medics of Korea's Dongui Medical Unit and 150 engineers of its Dasan Engineering Unit have been operating in Afghanistan since 2002 to help with reconstruction of the war-torn country.

U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow visited the military hospital in Seongnam to deliver to the fallen soldier a U.S. Bronze Star Medal, which is the fourth highest in the U.S. armed forces and can be given to non-American soldiers who died while carrying out missions with U.S. forces.

Ambassador Vershbow gave condolences to Yoon¡¯s bereaved family. U.S. State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack also showed deep sorrow for Yoon¡¯s death and wished the best for his family and friends.

Sergeant Yoon was recruited in the military in June of 2006. Later, he was dispatched as an interpreter as a part of Dasan unit in Afghanistan since last September. He only had three months left in the service when this tragedy happened. When Yoon¡¯s parents were informed of the terror attack, they were in a state of shock and disbelief. The military official visited their home and regretfully announced Yoon¡¯s death, leaving his family in great mourning.

After graduating from elementary school, Yoon went to America to study. He graduated from Indiana University and continued on to graduate school to study economics when he decided to enroll in the military to serve his country. His family was against Yoon¡¯s desire to be in Zaytun division which was a reconstruction division in Iraq due to the unpredictable danger but Yoon convinced his parents that he wanted to help his country as much as he could. Yoon¡¯s mother Lee remembers the moment in sorrow and says ¡°I should have stopped him then. How can I live with myself? He only had three months before he was finished with his term!¡±

¡°I cannot believe that my son is dead,¡± Yoon¡¯s father said in tears. Staff Sergeant Yoon was scheduled to finally come back and live with his parents after 11 years of separation.