By James Copnall

BBC News, Abidjan



Firmin Emolo, to be buried on Saturday, is one of the most unusual casualties of the war in Iraq.

Specialist Emolo was fondly remembered by his comrades

But Emolo's origins, as his name suggests, were not in Detroit or San Francisco, but in Ivory Coast.

The 33-year-old was a close cousin of Nanan Boa Kouassi III, king of the Agni ethnic group in the east of the West African country.

So how did a member of an Ivorian royal family end his days as a US soldier?

Paratroopers he served with remember him as always vigilant in his duties, one of the most physically fit soldiers, extremely proud to be in the army

Major Gen David T Zabecki

"Like many of our young men, he went to America to study," explains family friend and local member of parliament Boa Thiemele Edjampan.

"Then he married an American, got American nationality, and joined the military."

Unusually, the US military flew Specialist Emolo's remains back to Ivory Coast, so he could be buried in his home town of Abengourou.

Emolo was not well known in Ivory Coast, but some Ivorians have been surprised to learn that one of their countrymen died in Iraq.

'Proud'

US Major Gen David T Zabecki accompanied the body as it arrived at Abidjan airport and paid tribute to the Ivorian-American soldier.

"As a soldier Specialist Emolo was one of the best.

I will always remember his smile, he had a beautiful smile

Sabine Emolo

US soldiers in crisp green uniforms carried his coffin onto a plinth bearing an Ivorian flag, a potent symbol of the young man's dual loyalties.

Some 100 friends and family members wept at the airport gathering, as trumpets played in his honour.

Sabine Emolo, Firmin's sister, spoke, in a voice that trembled slightly with emotion, of the money Firmin sent home to his family, and his pride in being a soldier.

"I can't regret him joining the army," she told the BBC.

"I can only regret that he went so soon."

Dog tags

She insisted that he should be buried in Ivory Coast, a decision the king is thought to have approved of wholeheartedly.

The king lead the tributes to his relative in the death notices in the local newspapers.

"The king is a very important man in Abengourou and throughout all of Ivory Coast," says Mr Thiemele Edjampan.

"Even in the current political situation, when the king says something it is very important, because it is always for peace and reconciliation."

Wearing a T-shirt with a photo of her brother, and his military dog tags around her neck, Sabine said she would never forget him.

"I will always remember his smile, he had a beautiful smile."

Firmin Emolo's great objectives in life were to become American, and serve in the military.

He achieved them both, but he didn't live long enough to enjoy the achievement.