CPL Adam Anthony Galvez was born in Loma Linda, CA on April 2, 1985. His mother, Amy, tells us: "As a child, he was outgoing, athletic, loving, cute and charming. Adam played baseball for several years. He enjoyed skateboarding and snowboarding. He seemed to be very good at everything he did. He lived life on the edge. His passion turned to cars. He loved to race. His pride and joy was his Acura Integra with a V-tech motor, although his dream car was a Toyota Supra. He hoped to buy a Supra when he returned from Iraq. Adam had an incredible smile and a sense of humor that would not quit. If there was a comment description that people gave us, it was his wonderful smile. People seemed to gravitate towards him. He was the life of the party kind of guy." When Adam was seven, his family of five moved from California to Salt Lake City, Utah where his father, Anthony, took a job running a truck driving school. Adam, his older sister Sarah, and younger brother Travis, would spend their childhood near the beautiful mountains of the Salt Lake Valley. Once he was too old for Little League baseball, Adam's interests began to shift to more adolescent hobbies like snowboarding and skateboarding. He would spend all his free time snowboarding at Park City, Utah. But that was before he found his true love in life - cars. He didn't just love working on them either. "He loved racing them, driving them, showing them, and just plain admiring them," said his mother, Amy Galvez. Adam was very mechanically inclined. He took a lot of auto mechanic classes in school. He wasn't too interested in most of his other subjects and preferred having fun over studying. He just wanted to be around cars and it didn't matter who's car he was around. His parents never had to worry about driving around a clunker while raising Adam. "If there was a car broken down somewhere, you could probably find Adam under it," his father remarked. One day a neighbor from across the street came over to his house and said there was something wrong with his car. He asked Adam to look at it so he could take it to the shop and get it fixed. Adam quickly diagnosed the problem, told what parts he would need, and then worked on his neighbor's car until about 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning when it was fixed. His neighbor kept telling him not to worry about it, that he could take it to a shop. Adam refused to let him take it to the shop. After hours of work to get it running, he refused to accept payment, saying "you're my neighbor. Why would I take money for it?" Alex was just that kind of kid. At one point, Adam tried working at a transmission shop, but he didn't like it. He said it was too dirty. He was a very clean mechanic and the chaos and filth of the shop didn't sit well with him. Besides, he really just enjoyed helping people. After Adam's death, people would come up to his parents and tell them all the things that Adam used to do for them. They would tell them that anytime they asked Adam for help, he never hesitated. And if it had to do with fixing a car…he was all over it! Adam's interest turned to the military around his senior year in high school. After careful consideration, he joined the Marines on a delayed entry program. Adam's best friend since childhood, Robert Clark, joined at the same time. They went to boot camp on the buddy program then parted ways after Marine Combat Training. Adam went to Aberdeen, Maryland for training as a Light Armored Vehicle mechanic, then was assigned to 29 Palms, California. Adam had always enjoyed mechanics and seemed to excel as an LAV mechanic. Being stationed in 29 Palms seemed more of a curse than a blessing. But, while in 29 Palms, Adam made some very good friends and that truly was a blessing. The stories from other Marines are the ones that have really touched his family. Fellow Marines would say how helpful Adam was. He was always trying to make things better for everyone else. When a new Marine generally arrives at his first duty station, more seasoned Marines would pick on them. Adam would always stick up for them. On March 4, 2006, Adam's unit, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion, left for a seven month tour in Iraq. Adam was with H&S Company. For the most part he remained on base at Camp Korean Village, in western Al Anbar Province, working as a mechanic. He worked very long and often miserable days. When a mechanic with Delta Company was injured, Adam jumped at the chance to join this line company. Adam fit right in even though he was replacing a close friend to many from Delta Company, Cpl. Kenny Lyon. Many have said it was like Adam had been there the whole time. He was a good fit with Delta and made many close friendships. Adam found the adventure he was looking for as they traveled from Fallujah to Habbaniyah to Haditaha, back to Camp Korean Village and finally to Rawah. During this time they came under attack numerous times and had some very close calls. Adam was not only the platoon's mechanic, but an LAV driver as well. He took pride in the fact that the four LAVs he was in charge of maintaining never broke down. Adam's commander, Capt. Rollings, once told the family that if he had asked Adam to construct him a new LAV with nothing but scrap metal, that he could have done it. On July 29th in Rawah, Adam was in his quarters with other Marines, near the vehicle checkpoint his platoon was overseeing. The Iraqi police cleared a fuel tanker truck through the checkpoint. LCpl Tony Butterfield and Cpl. Phillip Baucus attempted to stop the truck realizing something didn't look right. Because of their efforts to stop the truck, this suicide truck bomb exploded 15 feet ahead of its intended target. The explosion collapsed the building Adam was in. He awoke under the rubble of the collapsed building and to the sound of the firefight that had ensued following the explosion. LCpl Garcia was unable to dig Adam out and assured Adam he would be back with some equipment to get him out. Before Garcia could return, Adam freed himself from the rubble and despite his injuries began digging out the other Marines. Adam and several other Marines frantically tried to free the others but were unsuccessful. LCpl. Tony Butterfield and Cpl. Phillip Baucus, were killed as well as Sgt. Christian Williams and PFC Jason Hanson, who were inside the collapsed building. Adam had refused to be medically evacuated but HN Chad Kenyon insisted Adam get medical care. He was finally medevac'd to Al Asad hospital. While recovering in Al Asad, Adam was given the chance to return to the United States. He declined and insisted on rejoining his platoon. Adam returned to Rawah on August 10th, in time for the memorial service for his four friends. After taking it easy for a few days, Adam requested to join his platoon. Adam returned to Delta Co. 2nd Platoon as a scout. On August 20th, a convoy of 3 LAV's was traveling through Rawah. Adam, in the last vehicle, was positioned in the left rear scout position hatch. While maneuvering to gain a better view of their potential threat, the LAV carrying Adam drove over a pressure that that triggered an IED composed of two large 155mm artillery shells loaded with a fuel accelerant. The IED exploded through the bottom of the LAV, killing Adam, LCpl Randy Newman and HN Chad Kenyon. The other three crewmen were severely injured.
Travis Galvez, Adam's brother - I had a dream that I saw you walking up our front steps and you opened the door. Mom and I just stopped and looked at you, then you smiled back and I woke up. I miss you and everyone misses you. I love you. Sarah Galvez, Adam's Sister - My brother, our Hero. I love you Adam.
NEWS ABOUT CPL Adam Galvez
Amy Galvez's Letter To Salt Lake Tribune
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