StarBulletin.com

Schofield soldier dies after bombing in Iraq


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POSTED: Wednesday, December 10, 2008

A 26-year-old Schofield Barracks soldier died from wounds in a roadside bombing in Mosul, Iraq the Pentagon announced yesterday.

He was identified as Staff Sgt. Solomon T. Sam of Majuro, Marshall Islands, a member of the 523rd Engineer Company, 84th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command.

The U.S. military said Sam was one of two American soldiers killed Thursday by an improvised explosive device.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Doherty said the two soldiers were killed when a driver detonated a car near a checkpoint, according to the Associated Press.

Also killed was Sgt. John J. Savage, 26, of Weatherford, Texas, assigned to the 103rd Engineer Company, 94th Engineer Company, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

Military officials also say preliminary reports from the scene indicate nine civilians were wounded in the attack.

The 84th Engineer Battalion held a deployment ceremony at Schofield Barracks on Nov. 5.

This was Sam's third deployment to Iraq. He was sent to Iraq for the first time in 2004 and was sent back for a year in 2005.

He enlisted in Army in October 1999 and was sent to Schofield Barracks in March 2000.

Since March 2003, when the war started, 90 soldiers, four sailors, 83 Marines, two Air Force personnel and one civilian with Hawaii ties have been killed in Iraq.