Hinesville, Ga. ? More than 200 soldiers, family and friends attended funeral services Friday to pay tribute to Army Col. William Wesley Wood, the highest ranking member of the U.S. military to be killed in Iraq.

Wood had rushed to aid one of his company commanders who lay mortally wounded from a bomb explosion last week in Baghdad. A second bomb went off, killing Wood.

“He loved his soldiers, and he was there taking care of them,” said Col. Glenn Burch, chief of staff for the Fort Stewart-based 3rd Infantry Division.

Wood, of Panama City, Fla., joined the 3rd Infantry in his first assignment after being commissioned as an officer in 1984. He later served as the division’s deputy chief of staff.

Wood left a wife of 17 years, Nanci Wood, and a 13-year-old daughter, Rachel.

The Army promoted the 44-year-old Wood posthumously from lieutenant colonel to colonel. He will be buried Sunday at Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, Fla.