Army Spc. Tenzin L. Samten

Died March 12, 2008 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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33, of Prescott, Ariz.; assigned to the 7th Special Troops Battalion, 7th Sustainment Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Eustis, Va.; died March 12 in Tallil, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle was hit by indirect fire. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Juantrea T. Bradley and Spc. Dustin C. Jackson.

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2 soldiers from Ariz. are killed

By Maxine Park

The Arizona Republic

Two Arizona soldiers died in Iraq this week: Spc. Tenzin L. Samten, 33, of Prescott, and Staff Sgt. Ernesto Guadalupe Cimarrusti, 25, of Douglas.

Samten was killed along with two other soldiers on Wednesday in Tallil after their non-tactical vehicle was hit by indirect fire, the Department of Defense said.

Officials said Samten was a motor transport operator assigned to the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) in Fort Eustis, Va.

Samten enlisted in the Army in July 2006. Officials said that he received several awards, including the Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal and the Iraq Campaign Medal. Samten is survived by his wife and two children.

Cimarrusti was killed in a suicide bombing along with four other soldiers on Monday in central Baghdad. The soldiers were talking with shop owners when explosives were detonated 30 feet away.

Cimarrusti was on his third tour in Iraq. He is survived by his wife, daughter and parents.

Cimarrusti is the second Douglas soldier to die in Iraq. Army Spc. Victor Campoy was killed in October 2003.

The two deaths this week bring to 115 the number of military personnel with ties to Arizona who were killed in the line of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 20, 2003.