Army Sgt. Tina S. Time

Died December 13, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

22, of Tucson, Ariz.; assigned to the 208th Transportation Company, Army Reserve, Tucson, Ariz.; killed Dec. 13 in a vehicle accident near Cedar, Iraq.

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Army Reserve soldier killed in Iraq

Associated Press.

TUCSON, Ariz. — An Army reservist has been killed in Iraq, believed to be the first female American Samoan to die in the war.

Authorities said Sgt. Tina Safaira Time, 22, died Monday near Cedar, Iraq, when the supply truck she was driving during a dust storm collided with another military vehicle.

Time was assigned to the Army Reserve’s 208th Transportation Company based in Tucson, Ariz.

Time’s family said she was a top student and leader at Leone High School, where she graduated in 2000.

School officials were planning to honor her Thursday night with a candlelight service and Christmas program at the school campus in American Samoa.

Time was two months away from completing a 22-month tour in Iraq before returning home, according to her family.

Mary Time said her daughter was a proud soldier and a great role model who loved her family, which includes four siblings, three of whom are serving in the U.S. military.

Time was a mechanic and worked on medium trucks for the unit, which has more than 100 members. She was promoted to sergeant in January.

After being assigned to Tucson, Time began taking classes at Pima Community College in computer science and enjoyed fixing cars in her spare time.

She joined the Army Reserve to serve her country and help offset the cost of attending college, her mother said.

Born in Australia, Time grew up in Pago Pago in American Samoa — a group of islands in the southern Pacific Ocean northeast of Fiji. It is an unincorporated territory of the United States and has a population of about 60,000.

In high school, Time was an honor student and class president. She was also a member of a youth group and a choir, and was a Sunday school teacher in her church.