Staff Sgt. Juan Campos

"I can't wait to get out of this place and return to you where I belong."

Six of the Fallen, in Words They Sent Home
March 25, 2008

E-mail message to his brother:  June 1, 2005

hey man, i tried calling yesterday to wish you a happy birthday and no one answered, i tried mimi's cell as well y nada. i wouldve tried calling again but i was feeling like shit and fell asleep as soon as i got home from work. i just didnt want you to think that i forgot about your birthday, damn man your already 24, you old ass....haha well man remember what i said in tryin to get your passport so you could come over here and chill for a while. well i gotta get goin now man, but stay safe and keep in touch lil bro, love you always man no matter what.

Shoota"

E-mail message to his brother: June 1, 2005

hey man, i tried calling yesterday to wish you a happy birthday and no one answered, i tried mimi's cell as well y nada. i wouldve tried calling again but i was feeling like shit and fell asleep as soon as i got home from work. i just didnt want you to think that i forgot about your birthday, damn man your already 24, you old ass....haha well man remember what i said in tryin to get your passport so you could come over here and chill for a while. well i gotta get goin now man, but stay safe and keep in touch lil bro, love you always man no matter what.

Shoota"

E-mail messages to his wife, Jamie:   Sent: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 10:58 am
Subject: Re: Hey baby

Hey beautiful well we were on blackout again, we lost yet some more soldiers. I cant wait to get out of this place and return to you where i belong. I dont know how much more of this place i can take. i try to be hard and brave for my guys but i dont know how long i can keep that up you know. its like everytime we go out, any little bump or sounds freaks me out. maybe im jus stressin is all. hopefully ill get over it. who told you that Jesse passed away?? He was stationed in Hawaii and then came here, i saw him when we were on Kuwait. thats when i found out he had gotten his E-5...i talked to him briefly then, asked him how his family was doing, and he asked how you guys were doin....you know, you never think that anything is or can happen to you, at first you feel invincible, but then little by little things start to wear on you. i indeed he was KIA well then send my regards to his wife if you can. i wouldnt want to put you in that situation. and ill try my hardest not to. well im sure well be able to save a couple of bucks if you stay with your mom....and at the same time you can help her with some of the bills for the time being. it doesnt bother me. as long as you guys are content is all that matters. I love and miss you guys like crazy. I know i miss both of you too. at times id like to even just spend 1 minute out of this nightmare just to hold and kiss you guys to make it seem a little bit easier. im sure he will like whatever you get him for xmas, and i know that as he gets older hell understand how things work. well things here always seem to be......uhm whats the word.....interesting i guess you can say. you never know whats gonna happen and thats the worst part. do me a favor though, when you go to my sisters or moms or wherever you see my family let them know that i love them very much..ok? well i better get going, i have a lot of stuff to do.but hopefully ill get to hear from you pretty soon.*muah* and hugs. tell mijo im proud of him too! 

love always,  

your other half

Sent: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 8:42 am  E-mail messages to his wife, Jamie:    

Subject: Re: Hey baby

Hey beautiful well we were on blackout again, we lost yet some more soldiers. I cant wait to get out of this place and return to you where i belong. I dont know how much more of this place i can take. i try to be hard and brave for my guys but i dont know how long i can keep that up you know. its like everytime we go out, any little bump or sounds freaks me out. maybe im jus stressin is all. hopefully ill get over it. who told you that Jesse passed away?? He was stationed in Hawaii and then came here, i saw him when we were on Kuwait. thats when i found out he had gotten his E-5...i talked to him briefly then, asked him how his family was doing, and he asked how you guys were doin....you know, you never think that anything is or can happen to you, at first you feel invincible, but then little by little things start to wear on you. i indeed he was KIA well then send my regards to his wife if you can. i wouldnt want to put you in that situation. and ill try my hardest not to. well im sure well be able to save a couple of bucks if you stay with your mom....and at the same time you can help her with some of the bills for the time being. it doesnt bother me. as long as you guys are content is all that matters. I love and miss you guys like crazy. I know i miss both of you too. at times id like to even just spend 1 minute out of this nightmare just to hold and kiss you guys to make it seem a little bit easier. im sure he will like whatever you get him for xmas, and i know that as he gets older hell understand how things work. well things here always seem to be......uhm whats the word.....interesting i guess you can say. you never know whats gonna happen and thats the worst part. do me a favor though, when you go to my sisters or moms or wherever you see my family let them know that i love them very much..ok? well i better get going, i have a lot of stuff to do.but hopefully ill get to hear from you pretty soon.*muah* and hugs. tell mijo im proud of him too!

love always, 

your other half

MySpace blog: Oct. 3, 2006

The life of an infantryman is never safe. How do I know? Well I live it every day.  I lost a good friend of mine just two days ago to an enemy sniper. The worst feeling in the world is having lost one of your own and not being able to fight back. The more I go on patrol, the more alert I tend to be, but regardless of the situation here in Iraq is that we are never safe. No matter the countermeasures we take to prevent any attacks. They seem to seep through the cracks. Every day a soldier is lost or wounded by enemy attacks. I for one would like to make it home to my family one day. Pray for us and keep us in your thoughts. 

Selected writings of Staff Sgt. Juan Campos, 27, who was riding in a Humvee on May 14, 2007, when it hit an IED. Severely burned over 80 percent of his body, he died June 1.