The war in Iraq has claimed another life in a new wave of deployments from Hawai'i. Pfc. Joseph I. Love, 22, of North Pole, Alaska, died in Balad on Sunday when a roadside bomb hit his Humvee during convoy operations, the Pentagon said.

Love was part of the 84th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) at Schofield Barracks.

"I know that everybody's taking it pretty hard," said May Toy, whose husband, Lt. Col. Mark Toy, is commander of the battalion. "It's a difficult situation. He was very young. Even though he didn't have a family here on the island — he wasn't married — everyone's still very sad about the situation," added Toy, head of the "family readiness group" for spouses back home.

Love's family could not be reached yesterday.

Nearly 500 soldiers with the 84th deployed in December to Iraq for a year. About half the soldiers were with the unit when it returned in January 2005.

A memorial service was held for Love on Monday at Logistics Support Area Anaconda, about 50 miles north of Baghdad.

Tina Marshall, whose husband, Capt. Andrew Marshall, commands B Company, remembers meeting Love in August.

"He seemed very nice. He was very polite," she said. Her husband "said all the time he was a good soldier, a good guy. You couldn't say anything about him that wasn't good."

About three weeks ago, an 84th Battalion soldier was injured in a roadside bomb attack and was evacuated to Tripler Army Medical Center for treatment.

About 1,000 Hawai'i Marines with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment left recently for western Iraq and have been on patrols in cities dealing with roadside bombs, including Barwanah.

Cpl. Andres Aguilar Jr., 21, a Hawai'i-based Marine, was killed April 2 along with five other Marines when the 7-ton truck they were riding in rolled over during a flash flood near Al Asad, Iraq.

Another 180 Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 recently deployed to Al Asad Airbase with CH-53D Sea Stallions.

Schofield Barracks, meanwhile, continues to train up for the summer deployment to northern Iraq of 7,000 soldiers and war duty for 90 to 100 of its helicopters and their crews.

Through 2004, the 84th Engineer Battalion poured concrete at LSA Anaconda for a maintenance facility, built a new combat support hospital and worked on POW camps.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.