A determined Maui youth who overcame major disappointments in his life, Army Pvt. Eugene D.M. Kanakaole of Kihei, died June 11 in a noncombat-related incident in Balad, Iraq.

Kanakaole, 19, was serving with the 87th Engineer Company, 8th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, based in Fort Hood, Texas.

Friends said the 2007 Maui High School graduate had dreamed for years of joining the military, the Maui News reported. He was described as a determined, "resilient" young man who spent most of his youth in the foster care system.

"I'm proud of him and sad at the same time," said Donna Vida, program director of the Maui Farm, where Kanakaole lived for about a year after moving to Maui from Honolulu, where he was born.

Vida said Kanakaole was funny and well-liked at the Maui Farm, and was caring toward others in spite of the challenges faced growing up. Kanakaole "bounced from one foster home to the next" for most of his life, and at one point was adopted by a Hawaiian family, who later gave him back up to the state, she said.

"This boy had a magnitude of disappointment and loss in his life," Vida said.

Joining the military was Kanakaole's dream for years, she said, one he talked about frequently, she added. Any anger he may have felt about his past seemed to be replaced by confidence and pride when he talked about his future plans.

"It's almost like his career was his light at the end of the tunnel," she said. "That motivated him."

Kanakaole is the third Maui man killed while serving in Iraq. Spec. Jay Cajimat, 20, died April 6, 2007, when a roadside bomb exploded near his unit. Sgt. 1st Class Kelly Bolor, 38, was killed in action Nov. 15, 2003, in a helicopter crash. At least 4,101 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Kanakaole was born May 11, 1989, in Honolulu. He attended Kapolei Middle School, Waianae Intermediate Schools and Waipahu High School on Oahu.

After moving to Maui in his sophomore year, he attended King Kekaulike High School, where he joined the paddling team and played football. He moved to Kihei and transferred to Maui High School in the middle of his junior year, graduating in 2007.

At Maui High, Kanakaole was a member of the varsity football team and joined track and field, where he was a pole vaulter.

But his former track coach Allen Kennedy said Kanakaole was never able to compete in his event, because the school wasn't able to get a pole long enough for his 195 pound, 5-foot, 11-inch frame. Still, he worked out at all the practices and attended all the meets, Kennedy said.

"He just loved working out with us, and we loved having him," he said.

Toward the end of the 2007 track season, Kanakaole took up shot put and placed eighth at the Maui Interscholastic League championship after just three weeks of practice.

"He surprised all of us and even himself," Kennedy recalled.

A business teacher and athletic coach for five years, Kennedy spent a lot of time with Kanakaole in spring 2007, sometimes giving him a ride home from track practice. He described Kanakaole as one of his "strongest, most memorable" students.

Kanakaole talked frankly about his history in the foster care system and his need for self-discipline.

"If he made a mistake, he would admit it," Kennedy said.

Dennis Diaz, who coached Kanakaole in football at King Kekaulike High School, said Kanakaole was an "all-around good kid" who seemed to be "thriving" in spite of his difficult youth.

"He was a nice kid. I'm saddened to hear about his death," he said.

Kennedy was having a hard time receiving the news after learning of Kanakaole's death from a reporter Tuesday afternoon.

"I'm deeply saddened that I'm not going to see Eugene again," he said. "I still haven't had time to digest this."

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