Retired Army Master Sgt. Enos Lee Harrison Ward, who was working as a recruiter and military analyst for a civilian contractor gathering intelligence in Iraq, died Aug. 14 in Baghdad as he was being prepared for surgery on a cyst in his throat, his wife in Nassau County said Monday.

Master Sgt. Ward, 45, will be remembered at his funeral at 11 a.m. today at the First Baptist Church of Callahan, 45090 Green Ave. Burial with full military honors will follow in Jones Cemetery in Callahan.

He retired from the Army's Special Forces on Dec. 1 after serving for 25 years.

Master Sgt. Ward, born in Jacksonville, grew up in Callahan and studied at West Nassau High School.

During his 25 years as a Green Beret, Master Sgt. Ward served in the Middle East in Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom as well as at posts in Europe and stateside.

After his service in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Master Sgt. Ward was awarded the Legion of Merit for his distinguished service as a mentor-teacher and combat leader. The citation also listed his accomplishment of developing a highly sensitive operation that provided overall security for President Bill Clinton and 23 heads of state during the Balkan Economic Summit conducted in 1998 in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"He was a wonderful soldier and a great man who would go out of his way for you," said his family. 

"It is amazing the number of people who knew him," she said. "I've gotten condolence messages from his Special Forces buddies from around the world and I've never heard a bad thing said about him. He was a great dad and he loved his grandbabies."

He is survived by his mother, Mary Jane Broden of Alabama; two sons, Brandon Ward of Georgia and Devin Ward of Colorado Springs, Colo.; two brothers, Tommy Cooper of Jacksonville and Johnny Lee Adams of Alabama; and three grandchildren.

jessie-lynne.kerr@jacksonville. com, (904) 359-4374