This site is dedicated to the memory of Nicholas G. Xiarhos

KIA 7.23.2009
Afghanistan

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Photos of Nick
From Nick's Dad, Continued:

On April 22, 2008 at 7:30 AM, the lives of Nicholas and 49 other Marines and Iraqi Police Officers were saved when Marine Corporal Jonathan T. Yale of 2nd Battalion 8th Marine Regiment and Lance Corporal Jordan C. Haerter of 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment stood in the path of a suicide truck bomb loaded with over 2,000 pounds of explosives as it barreled toward the Marine outpost in Ramadi.

The two Marines killed the driver but they themselves were killed when the truck exploded.

The actions of those two Marines prevented that truck from entering the compound and killing the group of men who will be forever remembered in Marine Corps and American history as The Fortunate Fifty.

Because Jonathan and Jordan gave their lives to save their brothers, the 1/9 Marines were able to come home in October of 2008. My family and I traveled to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina to welcome them.

I will never forget the sight of all those brave Marines coming back safe and sound to American soil.  I will never forget all of us running to greet Nick when he got off that bus!!!

In February 2009, Nicholas, my wife, my daughters and I traveled to a special ceremony at the Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia. Jonathan and Jordan were recognized by the presentation of the Navy Cross Award for Valor, the second highest award given by the United States Military.

Please do not forget those names. I never will. Those two Marines, those two young men, had 6 seconds to decide whether to run – as did an Iraqi Police Officer who lived through the blast – or to stand their ground.

They stood their ground. They gave their lives for their brothers.

They gave us more time with Nicholas.

Nicholas rose conventionally from Private First Class to Lance Corporal and in March of 2009 he was meritoriously promoted to Corporal.

Nicholas met and shook the hand of President Barrack Obama at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina after the President gave a speech to thousands of Marines preparing to deploy for battle in Afghanistan as part of his historic 10,000 member Marine Expeditionary Brigade in a renewed offensive against Taliban forces.

When he learned that fellow Marine and DY classmate Corporal Andrew Coville was deploying for battle as part of a historic Marine Expeditionary Brigade to southern Afghanistan, Nicholas volunteered to leave The Walking Dead and join the 2/8 – known as America’s Battalion – to fight alongside Andrew and to honor the battalions of Jonathan and Jordan.

Nicholas was a true Marine and he wanted to be in the fight.   Nick received notice that he had been allowed to join the 2/9 only 5 days before they deployed for war. He had no time to come home for one last visit.

Thank God we all chose to take time off from work and school and drive to Camp Lejeune. We rented a house on the ocean in Surf City and had a great few days with Nick and his brother Marines.

On Friday, May 15th we said good bye as Nick and the other 200 members of Weapons Company boarded the buses. Before he left, Nick gave me the most incredible hug. I was so proud of how big and strong he had become. I told him that I loved him and that I was very proud of him. I asked him to please be careful. I told him I hoped he’d always take care of his brother Marines, that they’d finish their mission and that they – he – would come home safe.

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