The 24-year-old Fort Carson soldier died Monday in Iraq of natural causes, three weeks shy of his scheduled return to the United States, his mother, Donna Thornton, said from her home in North Pole, Alaska.

He was assigned to the 10th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad.

The loss six years ago of his father and hero, Richard Malcom, who died from hepatitis C, made him want to become a doctor, Thornton said.

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were a factor in Worster's decision to enlist.

"He didn't want to see us attacked again," Thornton said.

His unit eventually deployed to Baghdad where it operated a trauma center.

"He did tell us he had a lot of times that he had to work on little kids who had been shot and injured," Thornton said. "He was glad he was there for them and comforted them, and he was glad he was there for his soldiers."