Army Pfc Lau was assigned to 16th Signal Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas. She was on board a CH-47 Chinook helicopter that went down after being struck by a ground-to-air missile fired by insurgents. Just a few hours before boarding the helicopter, she sent e-mail to her half-sister saying, "Don't worry, I'll be careful." Karina attended Livingston High School where she learned to play the saxophone, flute, trumpet, clarinet and other instruments. She acted in several musicals, loved to sing and won awards for music and math. She graduated 8th in her class out of about 200 in 2001. Karina would never miss a class or a rehearsal, yet managed to find time to write poetry, preside over the chess club and complete advanced placement calculus by her junior year. She graduated with a 3.8 grade point average and was one of the top 10 in her class. She went on to University of Pacific with an academic and music scholarship and attended for about 2 months then she decided that she needed to do more. Karina joined the United States Army and left Livingston in January of 2002 to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for basic training. She graduated and then transferred to Fort Gordon, Georgia for communications training. Once she completed this she was then transferred to Fort Hood, TX and was stationed there until April 6, 2003 when she received orders to report to Iraq. Karina dreamt of returning to school after her military service and someday setting up her own music shop.
Army Pfc Lau was assigned to 16th Signal Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas. She was on board a CH-47 Chinook helicopter that went down after being struck by a ground-to-air missile fired by insurgents. Just a few hours before boarding the helicopter, she sent e-mail to her half-sister saying, "Don't worry, I'll be careful." Karina attended Livingston High School where she learned to play the saxophone, flute, trumpet, clarinet and other instruments. She acted in several musicals, loved to sing and won awards for music and math. She graduated 8th in her class out of about 200 in 2001. Karina would never miss a class or a rehearsal, yet managed to find time to write poetry, preside over the chess club and complete advanced placement calculus by her junior year. She graduated with a 3.8 grade point average and was one of the top 10 in her class. She went on to University of Pacific with an academic and music scholarship and attended for about 2 months then she decided that she needed to do more. Karina joined the United States Army and left Livingston in January of 2002 to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for basic training. She graduated and then transferred to Fort Gordon, Georgia for communications training. Once she completed this she was then transferred to Fort Hood, TX and was stationed there until April 6, 2003 when she received orders to report to Iraq. Karina dreamt of returning to school after her military service and someday setting up her own music shop.
