Tradition of service: 41 family members join Army

FORT LEE, Va. (WWBT) – In American Samoa, military service is a tradition.

That’s why 41 members of a Samoan family have all enlisted in the Army together, and have started training at Fort Lee, Virginia.

At 17-years-old Feiloaiga Filivaa is the youngest of the group. He’s following in the footsteps of his older brother who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“He was my role model. I always looked up to him. Now I joined the Army just to make my family proud, and him proud,” Filivaa said.

Filivaa and his first, second, third and fourth cousins are from Poloa, more than 7,000 miles away from Fort Lee, where they are training in the Unit Supply Specialist Course.

“It’s a nice opportunity the Army has given us. Most of us came here for a new step in our career, for us to better our future,” Filivaa said.

30-year-old Joseph Tauiliili is the oldest in the group and feels responsible for looking out for his younger family members.

“They have to look at me as a leader, and I have to be a role model to them,” Tauiliili said.