James Sonny Melton was 29 and a registered nurse from Big Sandy, Tennessee. On the evening of October 1, 2017, he and his wife, Heather, a surgeon, were attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. A shooter on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel opened fire on the crowd.

Sonny shielded his wife from the bullets and was fatally wounded; Heather was unharmed. He was among 60 people killed and hundreds more injured in what became the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The shooter, identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, was found dead in his hotel room from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Investigators concluded Paddock acted alone and no other suspects were identified. They were unable to establish a definitive motive, though the FBI report noted possible factors such as a desire for notoriety and declining mental and financial state. Does anyone who knew Sonny want to share memories or information about him?