ASSOCIATED PRESS
Susan Amos stood with her daughter Rebecca, right, as the casket carrying the body of her son, Army Pfc. John Amos II, was readied for burial services yesterday at Graceland Cemetery in Valparaiso, Ind. Amos, 20, was killed near Kirkuk, Iraq, on April 4 when an explosive device struck his vehicle.
Schofield soldier
buried in IndianaJohn Amos II died after an
explosive hit his vehicle in Iraq
VALPARAISO, Ind. >> A Hawaii-based soldier who died April 4 after an explosive hit his military vehicle in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk was buried yesterday.
More than 200 people filled a funeral home to pay their final respects to Army Pfc. John Amos II, 20, known as J.D.
John Amos II: He is posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart
Amos, of Valparaiso, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks. He had been in Iraq for two months, according to his mother, Susan Amos, of Valparaiso.
Amos joined the Army after graduating from Valparaiso High School in 2002.
Army officials posthumously awarded him a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
After a four-mile funeral procession through the city, six Army pallbearers wearing black berets slowly carried Amos' casket from a hearse to the grave. A bagpiper played "Amazing Grace."
Mourners surrounded the family at the cemetery, blocking a 25 mph wind, as an Army burial guard provided full military honors.
"He would have loved all the attention," his mother said after the service.
She had said military officials told her his left leg had to be amputated. Medics were unable to revive him when he went into cardiac arrest after he was put on an airplane for evacuation, she said.
