Camden (Amos C.R.) Bock remembered

With fewer than 25 days to go before he was to return to his hometown of New Madrid, 1st Lt. Amos Camden Bock died from injuries when a roadside bomb exploded last week.

"We really thought he was over the hump," Riley Bock said of his son Friday. "We were counting the days down."

Stationed in Baghdad with the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Ky., the 24-year-old platoon leader was riding in a vehicle that was struck by a roadside explosion last Sunday.

Since then, Riley Bock said, the family has begun to hear of his son’s actions in Iraq, which he rarely spoke of for fear of scaring his mother.

"He was apparently a stellar officer," Riley Bock said. "He led every mission. He was doing just that when he was killed."

Growing up in New Madrid and attending Immaculate Conception School and Central High School, Bock was drawn to interests he could share with his father, such as hunting and backpacking.

The father and son backpacked through the Shenandoah Mountains during Bock’s sophomore year at West Point.

"We had some travels together," Riley Bock said. "I took him a lot of places."

Growing up, one of the places Bock followed his father was Columbia. Since the mid-1980s, Riley Bock has been a trustee for the Missouri State Historical Society and was president from 1995 to 1998.

"I brought him to many, many meetings," Riley Bock said. "I loved to bring my kids where I went."

Lynn Gentzler, associate director of the historical society, described Riley Bock as a diehard Missouri Tigers fan who always spoke well of his family.

"He’s very dedicated to the society," she said. "He’s worked hard with the society."

Although he wasn’t sure where his son’s interest in the military came from, Riley Bock said it might have had something to do with his own passion for the past.

"He was interested in military history, which is one of my great interests," he said.

Doug Crews, executive director of the Missouri Press Association, is familiar with the Bock family through Jill Bock, the soldier’s mother and managing editor of the Sikeston Standard-Democrat.

"They’re just good, solid community citizens down in that area," he said. "Gosh, it’s just a sad event for that family."

Bock returned home on two weeks’ leave in September. The father said his son visited in the community, went dove-hunting and visited his sister, Mariah Bock, a senior at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

The soldier also attended an MU football game.

"He wasn’t used to seeing a winning football team because he followed Army for four years," Riley Bock said with a laugh.

From the Columia Tribune

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Camden (Amos C.R.) Bock killed by roadside bomb