Soldier dies of injuries from land mine

Worthington grad was hit by shrapnel in training exercise Monday, January 27, 2003
Geoff Dutton
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Brainy and athletic, Adam Kocheran might have chosen any number of career paths after graduating with honors from Worthington High School.

But from the time he was a boy, he wanted to be a soldier.

"He was so proud to serve his country. He put his country before everything else,'' his father Ray Kocheran said yesterday. "I know he loved what he did. But he was the first to tell me how dangerous it is.''

His son, Capt. Adam Kocheran, 31, died yesterday after being injured in a land-mine explosion during an Army training exercise Thursday in Puerto Rico.

A 1993 graduate of West Point, Kocheran served as an Army Ranger before joining the special forces. He led a sniper squad, said his father, who lives in Sunbury. Also, he planned on attending medical school after completing his assignment.

Adam Kocheran spoke French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, and his military duties sent him around the world. He met his wife, Lorena, while training in South America. They married last year.

He had been stationed in Puerto Rico since October, based at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station as part of the Army Special Operations Command South.

Kocheran attended Grandview Heights High School before he graduated from Worthington. He played tennis and volleyball.

Both of his grandfathers fought in World War II.

In many of his childhood photos, Kocheran is dressed as a soldier and playing army, his father said.

He was born at Riverside Hospital in Columbus to Ray and Morgan Kocheran. He also leaves a younger sister, Laura Kocheran of Cincinnati.

Kocheran enjoyed rock climbing, scuba diving and "jumping out of planes,'' his father said.

"He's just very adventurous. He likes challenges.''

In recent months, two men have died in separate training accidents Kocheran had participated in, his father said.

"He told me, 'Everyone's walking on eggshells out here.' ''

On Thursday, he and two other men were injured by shrapnel when a Claymore directional mine exploded.

The other two men were treated and released.

Kocheran suffered a severe head injury and never regained consciousness, his father said.

Kocheran's special-forces unit will hold a memorial service today. Kocheran will be cremated, and relatives plan to hold a family service in Ohio.

"He believed he had to go into the service,'' Ray Kocheran said.

"He was a true patriot.''