Corman Quien Corman Quien was a Human male corporal and scout of the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War . Although he never thought his love of animals would benefit the Rebellion , Quien found use for his skills as a beast tamer . Assigned to Alliance High Command , Quien joined the Alliance Corps of Engineers as one of the first to be sent to the newly established Echo Base on Hoth , where he helped capture and train the ice planet ' s native tauntauns as mounts . Quien died during the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY when a startled herd of tauntauns broke loose from their holdings , trampling him . Biography . Corporal Corman Quien ' s value to the Alliance to Restore the Republic came in his expertise with animals . The Alliance put his skills to use by charging Quien with the capture , taming , and training of native creatures to use as mounts or beasts of burden . In that capacity the Alliance High Command assigned Quien to Major Kem Monnon ' s Corps of Engineers , the constructors of the Alliance ' s headquarters of Echo Base on the remote Outer Rim Territories ice planet Hoth . Quien ' s presence on Hoth proved more valuable than expected when the Alliance faced difficulty adapting the base ' s T - 47 airspeeders to the planet ' s freezing temperatures . While Monnon ' s men built the base , Quien rounded up and tamed Hoth ' s native tauntauns to use as mounts in place of speeders . Quien ' s service as a tauntaun handler at Echo Base continued into 3 ABY . On one occasion , at the behest of deck officer Commander Tamizander Rey , Quien took the reins of Han Solo ' s tauntaun to help him dismount the beast after Solo finished a routine patrol of Hoth ' s exterior plains around the base ' s outer perimeter with Luke Skywalker , which ended in Skywalker being attacked by one of the planet ' s native wampa ice creatures . Soon thereafter , once Echo Base discovered that Skywalker had gone missing , Quien volunteered to cover Sector 12 as part of Lieutenant Cal Alder ' s search party for Skywalker . Quien instructed base control to set their surveillance camera s to alpha screen . Quien was killed in the Rebels ' subsequent evacuation of Echo Base during the Battle of Hoth , one of the Rebellion ' s worst defeats of the Galactic Civil War , when a startled herd of tauntauns broke free of their restraints and trampled him . Four others were similarly killed . Following his death , Quien became well - known as one of Echo Base ' s tauntaun handlers . Personality and traits . Corman Quien was typical of scouts posted at Echo Base . He did not believe his love of animals was a skill that could be put to good use with the Rebellion , but Quien ' s service at Echo Base demonstrated the success the Rebels achieved by way of making use of their surroundings . He helped Echo Base round up Hoth ' s native tauntauns , effectively creating an alternative mode of transportation to the Rebels ' snowspeeders . Quien , a Human , had brown hair and light skin . Equipment . While serving at Echo Base , Quien wore the Rebels ' standard cold - weather armor . At the time he assisted Han Solo in dismounting his tauntaun , Quien donned only the hat portion of the outfit ' s headgear as well as a padded vest , lightweight tunic , and gloves . Behind the scenes . Notable appearances . Corman Quien appears in the 1980 film as the individual who takes the reins of Han Solo ' s tauntaun when Solo first enters the Rebel base at the beginning of the film . The character went unnamed until the November 1996 " Hoth Limited " expansion set of the " Star Wars " Customizable Card Game identified him as one " Corman Quien " on the " Tauntaun Handler " card . Quien is also referenced in the December 2003 Wizards of the Coast online article " " , which identifies the character as obtaining a certain level of notability as a tauntaun handler , as well as the February 2004 article " Who ' s Who in Echo Base " , appearing in " Star Wars Insider " 74 , which establishes Quien ' s background as an animal enthusiast . The " Star Wars Insider " article identifies Quien as being the character behind the off - screen voice in " The Empire Strikes Back " who announces that he will " cover sector twelve " in the search for the missing Luke Skywalker , and it was the first source to confirm Quien ' s death at the Battle of Hoth . Inconsistencies . The " Marvel Star Wars " comic adaptation of " The Empire Strikes Back " — specifically , issue " " — shows Quien teasing Solo about looking cold and not demonstrating typical Corellian toughness when he takes the reins of his tauntaun , to which Solo replies , " Cold isn ' t the word for it ! " Alternatively , features a similar exchange during this same scene moments later between Solo and Chewbacca , in which Solo recites the same line . However , the film shows no such verbal exchange between Quien and Solo .