Zainah C. Creamer

Sgt. Zainah Caye Creamer, age 28, was killed in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, on January 12, 2011, when insurgents attacked her unit with an improvised explosive device.

Zainah was based in Northern Virginia, and she was an Army dog handler. She and her working dog, Jofa, were assigned to check vehicles and facilities for explosives. The two had gone to Afghanistan in October.

She and the dog were doing their job, carrying out "a route and building clearance mission" when the blast occurred.

Zainah Creamer went to high school in Texarkana, Ark., and "always loved animals." Other interests included hunting and fishing, the cousin said, as well as the martial art of taekwondo. 

Relatives stated that she "absolutely loved being in the Army," and she "loved her dog she had in the Army." "Everybody that knew her loved her. She touched a lot of people for the short amount of time she was on Earth." 

Her mother lives in the Philippines. A brother also survives.

Zainah Creamer had been a soldier for a little more than six years. She had been assigned to Belvoir since October 2009 and was in the 212th Military Police Detachment, part of Belvoir's headquarters battalion. While in Afghanistan, Zainah Creamer worked with the second battalion of the 502nd Infantry Regiment. She had previously been in Iraq. Her Afghanistan assignment was her first as a dog handler. The dog lived after the blast. 

Let us pray to God the Father, Jesus, all of the saints and all of the angels that Zainah C. Creamer is in heaven. Let us pray that she is at peace and is with God. Amen