Houston Chronicle -- THE WOODLANDS — A 19-year-old soldier, who enjoyed the adventure of Army life, died this week when an explosive device went off near his unit during combat operations in Iraq, his family said Thursday.

Pfc. Cory C. Kosters died Monday in Samarra, Iraq, along with five other soldiers in his unit, U.S.military officials said. The soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, N.C.

Kosters enlisted in August 2005, three months after he graduated from The Woodlands High School.

His parents, Marlon and Senta Kosters, said their son joined the Army because he was an adventurer who loved the outdoors.

''He felt like that's what he should be doing," Senta Kosters said while looking at a collage of pictures of her son climbing trees and playing with a bow and arrows he made from tree limbs.

His brother, Kevin, 17, recalled how every e-mail, letter and phone call from Cory was full of stories about his life in the war. He was so excited about his duties that he volunteered for every assignment, he said. After a while, his ranking officers had to refuse his offers because of his inexperience, Senta Kosters said.

''He knew he would make a good soldier, and I knew he was an excellent soldier," she said, noting that he was dubbed the ''Ice man" by his fellow soldiers because he kept his cool, and he wasn't afraid during missions.

Cory Kosters would have been home now on leave, but he let another soldier take his time so that the man could be home for the birth of his first child, his mother said.

She said it was one of several signs that her son's death was meant to be.

''He wouldn't want that baby growing up never knowing his dad," she said.

Marlon Kosters said he didn't want his son to go into the Army, but he didn't want to make decisions for him.

He recalled taking his son to his first day of kindergarten and how excited Cory was about it.

Cory Kosters was home-schooled for 10 years before going to public school his junior year. He was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout and a member of Crossroads Baptist Church in The Woodlands.

The last time the family heard from Cory was Sunday by e-mail, Senta Kosters said.

It was his longest e-mail.

He said his unit was going on more missions because things were getting more hostile in Iraq. More improvised explosive devices were also blowing up, he said in the e-mail.

A composed Senta Kosters said she knows without a doubt her son is in heaven with God, and that is what gives her comfort.

The Kosters have received an outpouring of support from the community and their neighbors.

On Tuesday morning, the day after they learned of their son's death, they went outside and discovered mini American flags at the end of every neighbor's driveway.

''We're proud and grateful for their love and support," Marlon Kosters said.

The family has set up a college scholarship in Cory Kosters' name. Donations can be made at any Woodforest National Bank.