Steve Sakoda, the man we all know and love as ?Scrotie?, was killed in Iraq on April 29th, 2006. Sergeant Steve M. Sakoda, 29, of Hilo, Hawaii, died of injuries sustained in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 29, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. Sakoda was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky. He is survived by his lovely wife Michelle, who we have all had the pleasure to get to know. Please keep your thoughts with her during this time.

Scrotie had been part of FJB from the very beginning, 6 years ago, and we wouldn?t have been the same without him. He was always making us laugh either by something he said, something he sang and played on his ukulele, or simply by typing dirty pictures into a chat box. Scrotie was always friendly, unselfish, dependable and giving. He was the one person you could always count on. Many of my most memorable moments, since the inception of FJB, involved Scrotie in one way or another. They seem trivial now, given that they occurred only over the internet and in video games, and are a far cry from what he did in real life, but I think they say a lot about his personality and they reflect very highly on his character and the type of genuine person that he was. I am sure that he meant just as much, if not more, to the men that he served with.

? Back in the day, Scrotie couldn?t type very well, but he always managed to get his point across, in some creative way or another?usually with pictures.
? Scrotie was always the first one out of the base with a nanite scout to heal the base or a bomber, despite being one of the best gunners around.
? He was one of the first true masters of the ?scout push? that could turn a slow-moving bomber into a silly-fast-moving bomber by ramming it just the right way.
? ?I love you mines!? was his response to all of us, when we told him he was crazy for using his escape pod to clear a mine field around an Aleph?which he unselfishly did, time and time again to get our ships through safely.
? Scrotie was always the last line of defense, be it himself, a mine, or a well placed turret. You could always depend on him to back everyone else up.
? Drfatchick?what else can you say about that?
? Despite being one of the more skilled players, he always played the medic or engineer role, unselfishly, to benefit the group as a whole. He was always sacrificing his own glory to make us all better.
? Scrotie always liked to park vehicles in funny places?on Neo?s head, on Razzle?s head, on Crawdad?s head, upside down, sideways, etc. Any landing you could walk away from was a good one?but not near as good as one that ended in a destructive fireball.
? Scrotie escorted my bomber in a P51 for 2 hours one night, just enough time for both of us to run out of fuel over the enemy base. If you know Scrotie, you know it was a fun 2 hours.
? He was always willing to take time away from what he was doing to help someone, no matter whether they were brand new or had been around forever. I can?t count the number of trades, across many different games, where I had to close a trade window because Scrotie was trying to pass me a small fortune.
? Scrotie?s improvised ukulele songs were always the most popular on FJBRadio.
? Who could forget the hum of the laptop fan?
? There were many occasions where he had us all laughing so hard there were tears.
? Scrotie had an unhealthy infatuation with the whiter, fluffier kind?and had the best sheep call of all time.

Scrotie was one of the coolest people I have ever had the honor to be associated with. Even though I never got to meet him face-to-face, I can honestly say that he was one of my closest friends. I will always miss his personality, his laughter and especially just having him on my side, in game and in life. He was a hero to me then, he is a hero to me now, and I will never forget the time he shared with all of us. He will always be missed.

Official Casualty Report

Scrotie and Michelle: