Joseph Dominic Castaneda

My son, Joseph Dominic Castaneda, was all the family I had, my only child. He had just turned 23 Halloween 2006, and three months later, another soldier from his company had an illegal handgun in his personal room at the barracks. Whatever happened it went off, shooting my son in the head. Right now there is so much about this I don't know and they say there is nothing I can do about it. That is not why I am writing. My best friend and son would always tell me, when things got rough, "oh mom don't worry we have each other, and as long as we are together we will be ok."

We could never go to a fast food restaurant without him buying extra food for someone who was standing outside, or take his last bit of money to give it to someone who was at an off ramp.When I questioned that there are a lot of people who just do it for a living, he would just say, "Mom, maybe so but maybe one really needed something to eat." There was just something about my son, even from an early age. He would take a female's hand and kiss the top of it and say it's a pleasure to meet you.

My son's heart was so forgiving that even I felt he was being used a lot, but he would say maybe so but there might be one that needs it. I do miss him so much because with all my pain I went through, with the surgeries and hardship in trying to raise him alone, my son would say it's OK mom. We will be OK cause we have each other." His strength helped me in so many ways. Now I feel so lost, but try to keep hanging in there, because I know my son lives on in four men, one of which has ten children and five are of special needs that without him would have suffered more. I donated his organs so that they can live because I know that, when he was alive, my son would have wanted this. He had a heart of gold, which now it beats in another man who has ten kids. Sadly missed by his mom.

I am not much of a computer person, my son was the pro at that, self taught. He would laugh and say what would you do with out me? I am so proud of my son, I really don't think I would have made it this long without him, because it was his strength that would tell me, "oh mom we will be OK,,, we got each other."

I am truly blessed that I got to be his mom for 23 years 3 months. I am so proud of my son that no one ever will take that away from me. He will now and forever be my hero.

Sending Eskimo & butterfly kisses and a monkey bite...
(This is something my son would do - giving me an Eskimo kiss by rubbing our noses together, then taking his eyelashes which were very long and fluttering them on my face and then about 3 to 4 seconds later... pretend to bite my neck...)