Widower Reveals Desperate Final Text to Soldier Wife Killed in Iran War Opening Salvo
The grieving widower of a U.S. soldier killed during the opening salvos of the Iran war has publicly shared the desperate final text message he sent her before learning of her death. Army Sergeant First Class Nicole Amor, a 39-year-old Minnesota resident, was among six U.S. Army Reservists who perished on March 1 when an Iranian drone struck a military installation on the Kuwaiti coast.
"I'm Getting Worried": The Final Message
Joe Amor told CBS News that he grew increasingly anxious after hearing news reports about an explosion at a U.S. outpost in Kuwait. "When I heard it was a sustainment unit based out of Kuwait, I know enough about what's going on over there to know there were very few left over there, I knew it was her unit," Joey Amor explained.
He immediately sent his wife a text message expressing his mounting concern: "I'm getting worried. I'm getting worried. We're getting reports of a sustainment unit, three casualties, five injured, I'm gonna need to hear something from you today, my love."
Less than two hours later, Joey Amor received the devastating confirmation that his wife had been killed in the attack. "I don't know how to explain that to you, I don't know how to explain knowing before you know, and then to be told what you already know," he told the news outlet, describing the profound pain of the experience.
A Life of Service and Family
Nicole Amor, born in 1986, was a resident of White Bear Lake in southeastern Minnesota. Her obituary described her as:
- A dedicated soldier with a strong sense of duty and pride
- A loving wife who had known Joey for over two decades
- A mother of two children
- An avid gardener who found peace in her plants
- A person with a sharp, perfectly timed sense of humor
The couple met while serving at an Army base in Virginia and married in 2015. While Joey Amor left military service in 2012, Nicole remained firmly committed to her role. She had deployed overseas in July and was only days away from returning to the United States when she was killed.
Gold Star Family and National Mourning
Joey Amor and their two children have now joined the Gold Star family community, comprising immediate relatives of service members who died during active duty. "It is a community of people that have felt what we are feeling right now, and that are still feeling this every day," he said, emphasizing the unique weight carried by military families who experience such loss.
On March 7, a dignified transfer ceremony for the six Army Reservists killed in Kuwait was held at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. President Donald Trump attended the solemn event, saluting as flag-draped caskets were carried past. Nicole Amor's memorial service took place last week in Minnesota, where hundreds of people lined the roads in White Bear Lake to pay their respects as her funeral procession passed.
A Living Memorial to an Avid Gardener
In honor of his late wife's passion for gardening, Joe Amor plans to build a greenhouse as a living memorial. "It was a calming place for her," he told CBS News. "It's going to be an honor, it's going to be a joy, it's going to be wonderful."
The Iran War has now continued for more than three weeks, resulting in thirteen U.S. service member fatalities and over two hundred wounded personnel. Multiple recent opinion polls indicate that a majority of Americans oppose the ongoing conflict, adding political context to the personal tragedies unfolding among military families.
