WHEATON, IL, USA U.S. Marines LCPL, L CO, 3D BN, 1ST MAR, RCT-1, 1ST MAR DIV, CAMP PENDLETON, CA FALLUJAH, IRAQ 11/09/2004
Marine Lance Corporal Nicholas D. Larson was from Wheaton, Illinois. His Grandfather could not recall when the 19 year old had decided to join the Marine Corps, but his Grandfather never doubted that his grandson would fulfill that ambition. He enlisted while still in high school and upon his 2003 high school graduation, he immediately joined the Marine Corps. Nicholas, the fighting Marine from Wheaton, Illinois, was killed in action in Fallujah on November 9, 2004. As family members grieved for him, his family and those who knew him understood him. Nicholas Larson felt that he was where he belonged. He was assigned to 3d Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California.
Nicholas accepted the risks of being sent into combat in Iraq and he was not afraid of going into combat. He wanted to be a career Marine. This was what he wanted to do. Family and high school teachers and friends would describe him as just a nice kid who passionately intended to become a Marine. They knew also that he acknowledged that he would most likely see combat in Iraq. He accepted that, even if they did not. He had a vision and followed it. His steadfast focus on his goals did not go un-noticed by those around him. That focus was honored at his high school during a Veterans Day assembly as the 2, 200 students observed a moment of silence to honor their alumni’s loss of life and sacrifice for them and their country.
Nicholas Larson’s family honored him as well by hanging the red Marine Corps flag on one side of their porch and the American flag on the other end.
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