Green Forest, Ark. ? The sanctuary at First Baptist Church in Green Forest filled to capacity with 250 mourners for 2nd Lt. James Michael Goins’ funeral Tuesday.

But more than three times as many people showed up for the service to pay their respects to the young tank platoon leader killed Aug. 15 in Iraq. Church officials estimated that 800 people heard eulogies and hymns from the sanctuary, fellowship hall and tents set up outdoors.

Goins, 23, was a muscular and inspirational leader who felt invincible in his tank, said Capt. Kevin Badger, commander of the “Mad Dogs” company of the Army’s 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment.

Goins and Spc. Mark Anthony Zapata of Edinburg, Texas, were killed while fighting insurgents in the flashpoint city of Najaf.

Goins’ tank crew was patrolling a graveyard and was focused on gunfire in front of them when a member of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia quietly climbed up the back of the tank and shot Goins and Zapata at point-blank range through the open hatch.

Goins attended Green Forest schools from third to eighth grade. He had been serving in Iraq since Jan. 10. Three days before he died he was injured when shrapnel hit him in his face and arms. He had called his wife from the hospital to tell her not to worry. He received a Purple Heart for the wounds.

Goins lived in Bonner Springs, Kan., but grew up in Carroll County, Ark.

Army soldiers carry the flag-draped casket of 23-year-old 2nd Lt. James Michael Goins during a ceremony at Moore Cemetery Tuesday near Berryville, Ark. Goins, who was killed Aug. 15 in Iraq, was buried Tuesday.

Known as Michael to family and friends, he was the valedictorian of his high school in Kansas and the captain of the football and basketball teams. His father also called him a “tender-hearted poet” in an interview in the Harrison Daily Times.

“From the beginning, Michael always had a special quality, an inner-strength and discipline,” Jim Goins said. “I don’t really think we had that much to do with shaping him, but having such a child made us feel we were great parents.”