An American Samoa soldier killed in Afghanistan will be remembered by family tomorrow in Wai'anae before his body is returned to Missouri for burial.

Sgt. 1st Class Michael T. Fuga, 47, who was with the Missouri Army National Guard, died Sept. 9 in Kandahar from injuries when he encountered enemy forces during combat operations, the Pentagon said.

Fuga's father lives in Wai'anae, and the majority of his 14 brothers and sisters live in Hawai'i, said his wife, Justina Fuga.

Her husband was stationed in Hawai'i in the early 1980s when he was in the regular Army, said the Independence, Mo., resident, who is on O'ahu for tomorrow's service. A visitation will be at 2 p.m. at Wai'anae Sacred Heart Church. A Mass is scheduled for 6 p.m.

"It was something that I felt I wanted to do for my in-laws," Justina Fuga said. "My father-in-law can't really travel because of his health, so I requested to have (Michael) sent here first before he goes to Missouri to be laid to rest."

The Southwest Airlines employee and father of a 12-year-old daughter named Salome was mobilized in December 2004. In July 2005, he volunteered to stay on in Afghanistan until January 2007.

"I think as long as I'm around my family, I'll be fine," Justina Fuga said yesterday. "When I'm alone, it's pretty hard."

In a post on the Web site polycafe.com, Justina Fuga told her husband she will forever love him.

"I remember in Alaska when Salome born, I saw in your eyes how happy you were," she wrote. "You were the happiest dad in the room. I cried knowing that you finally got your wish of having a child."

With Fuga's death, 31 service members with Hawai'i ties have been killed in Afghanistan and 112 have been killed in Iraq since the start of the war there in March 2003.

Fuga, who was part of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 35th Special Troops Battalion, in Kansas City, trained and lived with the Afghanistan National Army and was involved in training, planning and executing missions. He was posthumously promoted to sergeant 1st class.

Fuga's father was in the Navy. The son joined the Army out of high school in 1978, and a younger brother is in the Marines. Michael Fuga joined the National Guard upon his move to Missouri, his wife said.

"The Army had asked for soldiers to stay (in Afghanistan) because they were short. Him and quite a few other soldiers extended," Justina Fuga said.

Her husband was trying to accrue enough active-duty time to receive 20-year retirement, but he also was very "gung-ho," she said. He was disappointed his active-duty unit in Germany hadn't been sent to the Gulf War.

"He was proud to be out there (in Afghanistan), knowing he was doing something for his country," Justina Fuga said. "Regardless of how people feel about (President) Bush sending them out there, he agreed with everything about that war."

Michael Fuga talked about the rough terrain in Afghanistan, "but what really caught his heart were the kids," his wife said. "He was always calling us and telling us (to) send clothing that we didn't use and school supplies."

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.