WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A 20-year-old man who was inspired to join the Army after a boot-camp-style program turned his life around has died in Iraq, officials announced Tuesday.

Pfc. Chassan S. Henry, 20, of West Palm Beach, died Friday in Ramadi, Iraq, from injuries from an explosion while he in combat, according to the Department of Defense.

“He tried so hard,” his mother, Hydie Henry, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “He struggled to be such a good child, and the end result is just awful. It’s unfair.”

Chassan Henry was born in St. John’s, Antigua, and adopted by Hydie Henry when he was two. Hydie Henry is his biological aunt.

As a rambunctious 13-year-old in need of discipline, Henry was enrolled in Eagle Academy, the residential program for at-risk kids run by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department.

He liked the program so much that he returned as a volunteer and became the first cadet in a mentoring program.

Henry graduated from Wellington High School, then served in the Job Corps for four months before joining the Army.

Henry was assigned to the Army’s 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Camp Hovey, South Korea.