Kirkuk car bomb kills Schofield soldier

By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i-based troops in Iraq suffered their first death from hostile action on Sunday when a car bomb detonated at a traffic checkpoint outside a police academy in Kirkuk, killing one Schofield Barracks soldier and wounding seven others.

Pfc. John Amos II met girlfriend Teira Dietz five months ago. The two talked about getting married, Dietz said. Photo courtesy Teira Dietz

The seven other 25th Infantry Division (Light) soldiers, all with the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, were treated in Kirkuk.

Amos is the second fatality among Schofield soldiers since their deployment to Iraq. Pfc. Ernest Sutphin died March 18 of injuries suffered in a Humvee accident near Huwijah on March 11.

Amos' unit was sent to the Tamin area of the city to set up a vehicle inspection point near the police academy. When Amos' group arrived, residents were conducting a peaceful demonstration in the streets surrounding the academy, said Army spokesman Maj. Neal O'Brien.

With the streets cluttered by protesters, Amos' unit began inspecting vehicles and groups of people before they moved through the crowd.

According to Amos' father, John, Amos was walking in a line of six soldiers when a car attempting to clear the checkpoint exploded.

John Amos, a Las Vegas resident and Air Force veteran, said his son, who everyone called J.D., wore a smirk most of the time and loved hanging out with his little brothers, Tyler 3, and Hunter 8. He said when his son was home in January, he spent the days playing games in the living room with his brothers.

"When he was home with Hunter he was Hunter's God," John Amos said. "I told him everyday, loud and clear that I loved him."

He said he talked to his son, who spoke fondly of fishing and four-wheeling, two days ago.

"I'm going to miss just listening to his voice and looking at his eyes and have him know that I love him," he said. "I dropped him off at the airport so he could catch his flight back on Jan. 6. When I talked to him two days ago, he had just finished up breakfast with his buds. I told him to be safe and lay low."

John Amos II's girlfriend, Teira Dietz, 18, said she met John five months ago at a party in his Waipahu apartment, while she was attending school at Chaminade. She spent eleven days in January in John's apartment, and the two talked about getting married, she said.

Dietz said the couple ate at Outback Steakhouse a lot and went to a different movie almost every week. She said John's favorite film was "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat."

"He was unique. He could always make me smile. He was more than just a boyfriend, he was my best friend," Dietz said. "The best way for me to keep going is by telling myself that he is in a better place and that he is safe now. He is my guardian angel and he can be with me all the time now."

After he got out of the Army, she said, he wanted to be a police officer working in the canine unit.

Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.