Pfc. John D. Amos was a goofball of a kid who would sneak up to the DJ at family weddings and request "I Cross My Heart" by George Strait, his mother's all-time favorite song. Then he'd sashay over to his mom and request a dance — together, alone, on the dance floor. He didn't care who watched. "He was very laid-back and things never got to him," said his mother, Susan Amos. "His only disappointment in the Army had been that he wanted to be a Ranger but missed qualifying by one push-up." The 22-year-old Schofield soldier from Valparaiso, Ind., died on April 4 when an explosive hit his vehicle in Kirkuk, Iraq. After his parents separated, Amos promised to "make a million dollars" to support his mother and by the time he graduated high school in 2002, it was up to a billion dollars. He joined the Army shortly after graduation. "This was our J.D.," his mother said. "This is who they sent over there to fight this war ... a young kid really ... with no experience in fighting."

Sgt. 1st Class Kelly Bolor's family and friends were planning for a November visit from the supply specialist when they learned he had died in Iraq. He "was the kind of person who the first time you met him you felt like you knew him all his life," said Alena Bolor, his sister-in-law. "He was the friendliest person you could meet." Bolor, 37, died Nov. 15 when two Black Hawk helicopters collided in Iraq. The Lahaina, Maui, native, a graduate of Lahainaluna High, was an Army reservist assigned to the 137th Quartermaster Company based in South El Monte, Calif. "He was really grateful to be able to fight for his country," Maxie Bolor said of his twin. "He felt it was the right thing to do." Bolor lived in Whittier, Calif., with his wife — also Kelly — and their 3-year-old son, Kyle. Family members called them "Kelly Boy" and "Kelly Girl." Said family friend Anna Kaahunui Dizon: "He always had a smile on his face. I'll never forget the smile."

Staff Sgt. Oscar D. "Big Daddy" Medina called his mother in Florida to say that her Mother's Day present was on its way to her. Francia Lopez said he told her: "Mommy, on Mother's Day, please be home because I sent you a surprise." Medina, 32, of Chicago, was killed May 1 in Iraq when his convoy was attacked. "I feel destroyed. He was my first born and he had no father," said Lopez, of Kissimmee, Fla. "I raised him by myself. He was my life." Lopez said her son had been deployed to Kosovo, South Korea and Kuwait during 12 years in the Army. She came to the United States from Cali, Colombia, in 1981. A mechanic, Medina was assigned to the Army's 84th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield. He even joined the ROTC program in high school. "He loved the Army. He used to say the Army is the best place to be. He felt strongly about going to Iraq. He felt it was necessary to fight for their freedom," Lopez said.

Staff Sgt. Todd E. Nunes was a member of the high-school wrestling team, a good student and a talented artist. "He could draw anything he saw," said Shelah Crick, a family friend. "I had always told him one of these days he was going to work for Hallmark because he was such a good artist." Nunes, 29, of Chapel Hill, Tenn., was killed May 2 in Kirkuk, Iraq, by an improvised bomb and small-arms fire. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield. His mother, Barbara Nunes, said she had visited her son and his family in Honolulu last year and that he had been eager to join his brother who was already serving in Iraq. "He wanted to be in Iraq," she said. Chapel Hill Police Chief Jackie King, a member of the National Guard for 35 years who served in Operation Desert Storm, called Nunes a "super-nice kid." Survivors include his wife, Christie, a 19-month-old son, Alex, and a 7-year-old daughter, Larissa.

Spc. Ramon C. Ojeda seemed destined to serve in the military. When he joined the ROTC as a high-school student, "he was the only one who had perfect creases in his pants," recalled his sister, Celia St. Germain. "He always held the flag. It meant the world to him." Ojeda, 22, of Ramona, Calif., was killed May 1 when his convoy came under attack in Iraq. He was assigned to the Army's 84th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks. "He was a very lovable person," said his father, Joaquin Ojeda of Santa Ysabel. "He would hug me. He would kiss me. He would sit on his mother's lap. I'm really sorry I won't get to hold him again." A sister, Evangelina Ojeda of Anaheim, Calif., said her brother "used to run into the kitchen and grab my mother from behind and kiss her on the neck and fling her around in circles." Ojeda served in the same unit as his wife, Lesliee, whom he married in October. The couple have a 14-month-old son, Angel.

Staff Sgt. Cameron B. "Boodee" Sarno was full of energy. After driving a truck all day, he would drop by to see his aunt and the two would talk late into the night. And his enthusiasm for the Reserves was boundless. "He was gung-ho," said his aunt, Nancy Gurdison. "He really believed he should do something for his country." Sarno, 43, was killed Sept. 1 while changing a flat tire on a heavy transport truck in Kuwait City, Kuwait. He had 19 years of combined active and Reserve duty in the Army. Sarno, an avid surfer, was born in Wahiawa and graduated from Waipahu High School. After graduation, he joined the military, following in the footsteps of his late father, James Sarno Sr., and moved to Las Vegas in 1998. Sarno's son, Cameron Bryan "B.J." Takeuchi, served in Afghanistan. "He always had a smile on his face," said Spc. Anthony Grimando. "There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for anybody. He was selfless."

Pfc. Ernest Sutphin relished playing practical jokes on friends and family. "We'd switch yards on people," his friend Jim Vaughn said of their school days. "We'd take everything from one yard and move it down one house." Sutphin, 21, of Parkersburg, W.Va., and stationed at Schofield's 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, 25th Infantry Division (Light), died March 18, one week after the Humvee he was riding in was struck by a homemade bomb in Kirkuk, Iraq. His mother and father were at the hospital with him when he died. The fan of "Star Wars" and comic books joined the Army to get an education and see the world, said his aunt, Faye Pennell. "He wanted to make something of his life," she said. "He wanted a career." He hoped to earn money for college, where he planned to major in either psychiatry or law, she said. "He was such a wonderful role model," Pennell said. "All his cousins and his sister looked up to him."

Spc. Phillip L. Witkowski was such a prankster that nobody could take him seriously. "He was a goofy jokester guy and when he tried to be serious, he couldn't," said family friend Carolyn Jenkins. She said she and her family would often barbecue at their Pearl City home with Witkowski and his wife, Tina, and he would salivate over Korean marinated steaks. The 24-year-old, of Fredonia, N.Y., died May 1, in Homberg, Germany, from noncombat-related injuries suffered on April 30, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Witkowski was assigned to the Army's 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 25th Infantry Division (Light) from Schofield Barracks. Tina Witkowski said the Army told her that he was the victim of an accident while he was placing a machine gun onto a Humvee. Witkowski also left behind two young boys, 3-year-old Kaleb and Kyle, 4 months.

Sources: Associated Press, Advertiser reports. Iraq casualties reported as of yesterday. Afghanistan casualties reported as of May 22.