Paying the Heaviest Price

Samoans doing the heavy lifting of democracy:

American Samoa – Proudly displayed throughout this lush South Pacific island are the hand-painted signs celebrating soldiers serving in Iraq, and the yellow ribbons of a "warrior nation," which has sent so many of its young men and women to fight for the U.S. military.

"There is a strong military tradition among Samoans looking at the United States really with loyalty, with a sense of duty," explained writer and poet Sia Figel. "When the United States calls upon them, they are quite prepared to answer that call."

In a time of war, this U.S. territory is a military recruiter's dream. Last year, American Samoa and other South Pacific islands supplied more than 400 recruits for the U.S. Army.
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But American Samoa has paid a heavy price. With seven Samoans killed in Iraq, it has the highest per capita death rate of any U.S. state or territory.

Among the victims was 22-year-old Tina Time, who was killed in a desert convoy accident. In the Samoan tradition, her crypt lies in front of the parents’ house, bedecked with flowers.
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With three other children in the U.S. military, Mary Time still supports American involvement in Iraq — despite her daughter's death.