Soldier with Vegas ties among casualties

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, April 6, 2004 | 11:13 a.m.

A 22-year-old Army infantryman who spent his school vacations and summers with his father's family in Las Vegas died Sunday in Iraq.

John Douglas Amos Jr., called "J.D." by friends and relatives, had been in Iraq for about five weeks when he was killed, according to his cousin, Dale Amos.

The Army confirmed that John Amos, a private first class, died in Kirkuk when an improvised explosive device hit his military vehicle.

Amos' old roommate told the family their six-troop patrol was attacked by a suicide bomber who blew up a vehicle next to them, 28-year-old Dale Amos said.

He said the other five soldiers were injured in the attack.

Dale Amos said his family had worried about J.D.'s safety constantly.

"But you get numb to it (the danger)," he said. "You see two, three, four, five, six die every day, and you try not to think that way, but then it happens and it's a shock."

He said that while he supports the troops, he thinks they should leave Iraq.

"I just think enough is enough. They said it's over. They got Saddam Hussein. Bring them back," he said. "We don't need to be over there on foot patrol all over the whole country. Let them police their own country. ... We're going to be over there forever."

John Amos grew up in Valparaiso, Ind., and joined the Army in July 2002 just after graduating from high school, his cousin said.

"He always said he wanted to be in the military, ever since he was a sophomore or junior in high school," Dale Amos said. John's father was in the Air Force for 20 years before moving to Las Vegas, he said.

John Amos was based at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, with the 25th Infantry Division, which was deployed to Iraq on Feb. 22.

Dale Amos said his cousin planned to move to Las Vegas and become a police officer after his military career.

John Amos visited his family in Las Vegas over Christmas and in February before leaving for Iraq. Since he was 13 or 14 Amos had been coming to Las Vegas during school vacations to visit his father, stepmother and two younger half-brothers.

"He was excited. He was doing what he wanted to do," Dale Amos said.

Last week John Amos called his relatives here to tell them he would be visiting again soon, probably in a few months.

"He was excited. He wanted to surprise his dad," Dale Amos said.

During his short time in Iraq, John Amos told his cousin "it was kind of boring there," and he asked for a laptop computer so he could get onto the Internet.

John Amos' birthday was March 18, and so they found a laptop and sent it to him as a birthday present. It didn't get there before he died.

Dale Amos said his cousin's Las Vegas relatives also included four other cousins. John Amos also had an older sister, he said.