DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Staff Sergeant Timothy J. Roark, 29, of Houston, Texas, died in Balad, Iraq, on October 2, 2005, of a non-combat related injury. Roark was assigned to the Army's 4th Battalion, 123rd Aviation Regiment, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

For further information related to this release, contact Army Public Affairs at (703) 692-2000.

When Timothy J. Roark and his family went to a cookout at the house of fellow soldier Rosonda Bell, Bell's husband joked with Roark that he couldn't be from Texas if he didn't know what a "Bolo" sandwich was.

But when everyone later saw that Roark was driving a big Lincoln, they jokingly said they finally believed it.

Roark "was a very nice guy, a little crazy at times but overall a squared away soldier," Bell wrote on a tribute Web site. "He and I used to sit in my office and talk about life all the time."

Roark, 29, of Houston, was killed October 2, 2005, in Balad of a non-combat related injury. He was assigned to Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

Roark was a member of the Army's 4th Battalion, 123rd Aviation Regiment. He also had served in Alaska.

"I will always remember T.J. as someone who pushed me to be the better person that I am," said Miranda Harvey, a friend for the past few years. "He was a very good friend."

He is survived by his wife, Sophia, and two sons.

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