Family Mourns Son Who Died in Gulf Combat

While the rest of the nation celebrated the end of a Persian Gulf War that claimed remarkably few U.S. casualties, the Galvan family of Orange County mourns one serviceman who did not make it back.

Capt. Arthur Galvan, 33, was killed when his AC-130 Spectre gunship was shot down during the battle of Khafji.

Galvan, the plane’s control officer and bombing navigator, was based in Navarre, Fla., where his wife and 12-year-old son live.

At a family gathering in Orange County, Galvan’s mother, Doris Ocampo cried, “So much waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting--and then (to end) like this!”

Galvan graduated from Estancia High School in Costa Mesa, where he played quarterback, and from Troy State University in Alabama.

Just before leaving for Saudi Arabia, Galvan visited Orange County to see his family, including his father, Ramon.

In his last letter, Galvan said, “Please don’t worry too much about me, Mom. Everything is in God’s hands.”