Steve Sakoda

Steve M. Sakoda

1st Squadron 75th Cavalry

Attached to Company E 1-22 Infantry (Mechanized)

KIA 04/29/06

This was a challenging month for our brothers in the 1^st Squadron, 75^th Cavalry Regiment
as they dealt with the loss of two exceptional noncommissioned officers. One of those was Sergeant Steve M. Sakoda from Hilo, Hawaii –
a squad leader in Bonecrusher Troop’s 2nd Platoon that was attached to our company. He worked diligently to help us train the Iraqi Army
and secure the main supply route that our friendly forces use daily. Their sacrifices will never be forgotten.

—Captain Patsky Gomez Commanding Officer Company E 1-22 Infantry

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British paratrooper Pete McIntyre played "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes during a Saturday memorial service
for Hawaii Sgt. Steve Sakoda at Camp Stryker, Iraq, in this photo released yesterday.
Sakoda, 29, of Hilo died after an Iraqi roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee on April 29.

Sgt. Steve M. Sakoda, of Hilo, died of injuries sustained in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle
during combat operations. Sakoda was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team,
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Sakoda grew up in a close-knit Hilo neighborhood in Waiakea. After graduating from Waiakea High School in 1994,
Sakoda joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and served as a warehouse clerk at Kaneçohe Marine Corps Air Station.
In 2002, he earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Hawai'i-Hilo.
Sakoda was discharged from the Marine Reserve that same year, but in 2003 signed up with the Army National Guard in Hilo
as a radio operator for the headquarters company scout platoon of the 2nd Battalion 299th Infantry.
After a year with the Army National Guard, Sakoda signed up for active duty as an Army calvary scout,
and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Sakoda was promoted to sergeant last year, and on Oct. 1, 2005 he was sent to Iraq.

IDAHO STATE JOURNAL VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

SGT Steve Sakoda

Soldier from Hilo loved life, military service

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — Steve Sakoda made people laugh, but also was a man to be taken seriously.

Before joining the military, he liked wild haircuts and would dance with whacky abandon because he didn't care what people thought of him.
He once used an ink marker to sketch a bikini top on his chest before heading out to paddle with the Keaukaha Canoe Club in Hilo.

Sakoda earned a black belt in karate and deliberately sought out infantry combat duty in Iraq.
His work as a cavalry scout with the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
took him "outside the wire" and into danger day after day.

On Saturday, Sakoda, 29, was killed by a bomb that detonated near his vehicle in a convoy in Baghdad.
He was the 15th service member who considered Hawai'i his home state to die in Iraq, Afghanistan or Kuwait since military operations began.

At least 129 other service personnel with Hawai'i ties — including 43 Army personnel — have been killed in those countries.

"Steve loved his home, his friends and family. He always wanted to return home to Hawai'i and live his life surfing, paddling, fishing,
acting, partying and loving those dear to him," his wife, Michelle, said in a written statement released yesterday in Hilo.
"Everyone who has met him has been touched by his generous heart."

Sakoda grew up in a well-kept, close-knit Hilo neighborhood in Waiakea. He was the youngest of two children of the late Stephen and Keiko Sakoda.
His dad was a Big Isle police sergeant.

Longtime friend Jeremy Hough, 27, recalled surfing and fishing with his Waiakea High School classmate.
"He was a really good friend. I could count on him for anything," Hough said.

After graduating in 1994, Sakoda joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and served as a warehouse clerk at Kane'ohe Marine Corps Air Station.
He enrolled at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo and earned a bachelor's degree in communications in 2002.

Sakoda was discharged from the Marine Reserve that same year, but in 2003 signed up with the Army National Guard in Hilo
as a radio operator for the headquarters company scout platoon of the 2nd Battalion 299th Infantry.

Staff Sgt. Ha Chi worked with Sakoda in Hilo, and remembers him as a reliable soldier who learned quickly
and liked the tough challenges of serving with a scout unit. "You could tell he was one of those guys; he will do his duty,
he's not going to shirk his duty because it's dangerous or anything else," Chi said. "It's what you sign up to do, and you've got to do it."

After only a year with the Army National Guard, Sakoda signed up for active duty as a calvary scout, and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division
(Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Ky. He married Michelle Vallente Castillo of Honoka'a in 2004.

Michelle Sakoda said her husband felt "the need to do more for his military comrades, the country and his family."

Chi said Sakoda deliberately shifted to active duty to get combat experience,
with a long-range plan of returning to the Army National Guard as an officer.

When he learned his old Hawai'i Guard unit was being activated to go to Iraq before his unit in the 101st,
Sakoda asked for a transfer back to the Guard unit so he could go with them, Chi said. The Army refused.

Sakoda was promoted to sergeant last year, and on Oct. 1 he was sent to Iraq.
His wife returned to the Big Island, working as a registered nurse at Hilo Medical Center.

Chi said he ran into Sakoda in Balad, Iraq, last summer and pointed out the tent where Sakoda's old Guard scout platoon was staying.
At 2 a.m., Sakoda visited the tent, sneaking up on each soldier as they slept and waking them. "Everybody was happy to see him," Chi said.

The soldiers exchanged what they had learned and talked about what they had seen. Sakoda seemed confident and professional, he said.

Michelle Sakoda said her husband "would always be a Hilo boy, no matter where he went."

"His dedication to the military and his aloha to everyone is genuine.
He will be remembered as the Hilo boy who lived his dream and did what he felt was right," she said.

"Steve wouldn't want to see those who cared for him to have a heavy heart and shed so many tears.
He would like them to smile and remember the life he lived and what a wonderful person he was."

Sakoda also is survived by his older sister, Stella Yuki Sakoda Hottendorf.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com

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