30 Jun 2008

High ranking American Samoan soldier dies in Iraq

6:13 am on 30 June 2008

A solider from American Samoa was one of the three U.S. marines killed last week in Iraq.

The Defence Department said 42 year old Lieutenant Colonel Max Galeai and two other marines were killed while supporting combat operations in Al Anbar province.

The exact number t of soldiers from American Samoa killed in the Iraq war is not known because not all soldiers record the territory as their home having entered the military from other states.

But the number of fatalities with Samoan ancestry is believed to be more than 20.

Lt. Col. Galeai would be the highest ranking Samoan soldier killed in Iraq.