Army honors first
AJA to die in IraqThe son of a former
Big Island resident is
promoted to sergeant
Paul Tokuzo Nakamura, an Army Reserve medic whose family is from the Big Island, was promoted posthumously to sergeant yesterday.
On June 19, 21-year-old Nakamura became the first Japanese American to be killed in the Iraq war.
COURTESY PHOTO
Paul Tokuzo Nakamura: Died June 19 when a vehicle he was in came under fire south of Baghdad
Nakamura was "simply known by us as Toku," his father said yesterday in a phone interview from Southern California.
Paul Nakamura, who is originally from Kukuihaele on the Big Island, described his son as passionate about wrestling and water sports.
His son was raised in Santa Fe Springs in Southern California where he was a swimmer, wrestler, and a water polo and soccer player.
The last time the senior Nakamura talked with his son was on June 15, Father's Day.
"As always, he told us not to worry," the father said. "He said everything was fine. He told us what he was doing. But he always said things were pretty intense."
The Pentagon said Nakamura died in Al Iskandariyah, Iraq. He was part of an ambulance crew transporting an injured soldier when the vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade on a highway about 20 miles south of Baghdad.
He had been assigned to 437th Medical Company, based in Colorado Springs, Colo. His unit was activated just after Christmas, and he left in early January.
The Army said that while in Iraq, Nakamura treated 80 individuals during more than 220 medevac missions.
The senior Nakamura said his son told the family that he had been treating civilians: "He wasn't a doctor, but he knew what to do.
"He always talked about the children he saw in the streets. He felt bad for them. He said he never knew he had it so good. ... I think after he got there he really grew up."
At Nakamura's funeral on July 2 at Rosehills Memorial Park near Whittier, Calif., the soldier was awarded a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a National Defense Service Medal and an Armed Forces Reserve Medal.
The Associated Press reported that Lt. Gen. James Hemly, chief of the Army Reserve, said: "This soldier typified our young soldiers -- a very strong character, very strong values. We're proud of him."
Mark Miyashiro, a cousin who lives in Honolulu, described Nakamura as "very full of energy. He would always go all out. I think the last time he was here was three years ago, for a soccer tournament at Kapiolani Park."
Nakamura's father, who left the isles in the 1960s, said his son and his daughters spent several summers in Hawaii learning about their relatives who still live here.
"He even went to Okinawa, where his mother is from, to learn about his culture," he said.
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U.S. combat death toll
in Iraq stands at 143
Since the war began in March, 143 U.S. soldiers have been killed in combat, nearly matching the 147 killed in the 1991 Gulf War.
The Associated Press reported yesterday that the total number of Americans who have died in Iraq since the conflict began March 20 stands at 212. That number includes 69 deaths in accidents and other nonhostile circumstances. About two-thirds of the nonhostile deaths have come since May 1.
In the 1991 Gulf War, 147 were killed by hostile fire. The war began Jan. 17 and ended with a cease-fire on Feb. 28. There also were 235 nonhostile deaths, including a number of soldiers who died during the U.S. buildup in Saudi Arabia and others who died in Kuwait after the fighting ended.
In the current war in Iraq, the 212 deaths comprise 123 from the Army, 80 from the Marine Corps, five from the Air Force and four from the Navy.
