American Samoa native and fallen Toa o Samoa, Army Sgt. Tofiga J. Tautolo was among the four U.S. military personnel killed in the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq, and he was honored yesterday during a joint session of the Hawai’i State Legislature in downtown Honolulu.

Family members of the fallen soldiers were present to accept the “Hawaii Medal of Honor” created in 2005 by Hawai’i state Rep. Mark Takai (D-Aiea) to recognize the heroism of Hawai’i’s armed forces, including members of the military who have ties to Hawai’i.

The award is given on behalf of the people of the State of Hawai’i to honor those with Hawai’i ties, who are killed in action while serving in Iraqi and Afghanistan, according to information provided by Takai.

As previously reported by Samoa News, Tautolo died May 27, 2012 in Bati Kot, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, “of wounds sustained when his vehicle was attacked with an enemy improvised explosive device.”

Tautolo was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado. He graduated from Manu’a High School in 2006, which was the same year that his mother passed away. She is buried in Hawai’i where he was raised.

Edward Tautolo, who spoke with Samoa News four days after his nephew was killed in action, was surprised when contacted yesterday about the award ceremony, and Tofiga was among the four honorees.

“This is an honor for my nephew, my family and myself,” said Tautolo, who is a military retiree. “This is a prestigious award and I’m very pleased to hear of this great news. And again, this is a great honor.”

In a Jan. 31, 2014 speech on the floor of the Hawai’i state House Takai stated that it’s been said that when Tautolo entered the military, “he was noticed immediately for his unique ability to balance his leadership role while maintaining a healthy, low key sense of humor to keep his soldiers relaxed but ready for battle. It was also known that his biggest passion was being a husband and a father to his son.”

Three other fallen soldiers were honored yesterday during the special session in the House chamber.

“Words are not enough to express the loss of these young men who died serving our country and for this reason, we honor the family, friends and colleagues of the fallen who have sacrificed, who have themselves paid a price, and who helped make this year’s honorees the brave, strong individuals that we called on and counted on to serve our nation,” Takai said, according to a copy of his speech on the House floor.

Besides family members of the fallen soldiers, others attending yesterday’s ceremony included Hawai’i Gov. Neil Abercrombie.

Edward Tautolo said he was going to contact his brother (Tofiga’s father) in Honolulu about the ceremony.

When he joined the military, Tautolo first went with the U.S Marine Corps and he was deployed to Iraq twice in 2008. While still with the Marine Corps, he was deployed to Afghanistan from May 9 to Dec. 5, 2009 before entering the U.S. Army on May 5, 2011 and was stationed in Fort Carson. He was deployed again to Afghanistan in March 2012.

In 2006, American Samoa’s first fallen Toa o Samoa was honored with the Hawai’i Medal of Honor. That was U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Frank F. Tia’i, who died the summer of 2005 in the Iraq war.

As a member of the local Army Reserve, Tia’i was a member of the Hawaii-based 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry which includes soldiers from Hawai’i, American Samoa, Guam, Saipan and the mainland.