John Amos will be thinking about his son today, the son who was given the same name, the son who was killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004.

But then again, there are few days when he doesn't think about "J.D.," a Schofield Barracks soldier who died when he was just 20.

Pfc. John D. Amos II suffered severe lower body injuries when a suicide car bomber detonated two artillery shells in the northern Iraq city of Kirkuk.

Amos, who lives in Las Vegas and last week was in Hawai'i for a memorial dedication at Schofield, wears a metal remembrance bracelet with his son's name. It's so worn, a lot of the original black color has come off.

He won't take it off — not even going through an airport metal detector. Security has to use a hand wand.

A head and shoulders portrait of his uniformed son is tattooed on his upper left arm. An American flag is in the background.

"It'll never go away, but it gets different," Amos said of the pain five years after his son was killed. "You can look back at all of the times and laugh a little bit harder."

What hasn't changed is the pride he feels over his son's service.

"He got killed defending our flag," Amos said, "and that's all we can ask of anybody."

As the nation pauses today to recognize its war dead, the tally from ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continues to mount, and additional families and friends mourn their loss.

A total of 258 service members with Hawai'i ties have died in service since the start of the Iraq war in March 2003. Most were killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Ku- wait.

The Pentagon reported that as of Friday, there have been 4,299 U.S. military and civilian deaths in Iraq, and 682 in Afghanistan.

MOMENT OF SILENCE

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged the nation's men and women in uniform to observe a moment of silence today at 3 p.m. in each time zone "to remember our fallen heroes."

"It is important to think of the fallen on this day, but we should also keep in mind all of our servicemen and women throughout the year," Gates said. "They and their families continue to sacrifice for our country and deserve our recognition and support."

On Wednesday, the Hawai'i list of the fallen grew by one more in the steady tick of sacrifice.

Air Force 1st Lt. Roslyn L. Schulte, 25, who was from St. Louis, and assigned to Pacific Air Forces at Hickam Air Force Base, died in a roadside bomb blast in Afghanis- tan.

The intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance officer with the 613th Air and Space Operations Center was in a convoy on the regularly traveled route from Camp Eggers in Kabul to Bagram Airfield.

Schulte was a 2006 Air Force Academy graduate. She was the academy's 10th graduate and first woman killed while supporting operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, the Air Force said.

"We are extremely saddened by the loss of Lt. Schulte," said Maj. Gen. Mike Hostage, Pacific Air Forces' vice commander. "She was a remarkable, devoted young officer. While this is a sad day for the Air Force, we will remember her for her bravery and the sacrifice she made for her country."