Private First Class Karina Sotelo Lau, U.S. Army, was born in Livingston, CA, and attended Livingston High School where she was an exceptional student and learned to play more than a dozen instruments. Lau graduated eighth in her class and sang the national anthem at her 2001 graduation ceremony. The daughter of Chinese and Mexican immigrants, she would have been the first in her family to graduate from a four-year university. Lau had a four-year academic and music scholarship to the University of the Pacific Stockton, but after two months in school, decided she needed to do more and enlisted in the Army.
After graduating from basic training in Fort Jackson, SC, and communications training in Fort Gordon, GA, where she was top of her class, she was transferred to Fort Hood, TX.
On November 2, 2003, Private First Class Karina Sotelo Lau was one of sixteen service members killed when a shoulder-fired missile shot down the CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter she was in. She was 20 years old.
Sources:
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/modestobee/name/karina-lau-obituary?id=27591924
https://www.fallenheroesproject.com/post/karina-sotelo-lau
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8165371/karina_sotelo-lau/photo
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