Pvt. Nolan Hutchings, U.S.M.C (NCD)

(reprinted from the Charleston Post and Courier  April 17, 2003)

Marine from S.C. killed

Hutchings, 20, died by friendly fire, father says

COLUMBIA--Marine Pvt. Nolen Ryan Hutchings of Boiling Springs was killed in a friendly fire incident in the war in Iraq, his father said Sunday evening.

Marines came by the family's home earlier in the day and explained to the parents that their 20-year-old son was killed March 23 while traveling with an armored vehicle unit.

"He was proud to be a Marine. We were proud of him," his father, Larry Hutchings, said by phone as he held back tears, sniffling. "He would make an effort to help somebody out no matter what kind of problem it was for him."

Searching for words, Hutchings said he was relieved to find out what happened to his son, who went missing three weeks ago during fighting on the outskirts of Nasiriyah.

"The relief in knowing for sure what's going on," Hutchings said. "Of course, we're not happy with the results, but just knowing that he's with God is a comfort to us."

Nolen Hutchings was one of the missing Marines assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Larry Hutchings said his son's unit was going to secure a bridge in Nasiriyah and eventually help wounded soldiers.

But someone called in for air support and the unit was hit, the father said. Several Marines survived the attack, but Hutchings said he found out by phone late Saturday that his son had been identified as one of the dead soldiers.

The 51-year-old Upstate man said his son grew up wanting to be a Marine. The teenager signed up not long after graduating from Boiling Springs High School, leaving in January for active duty.

Hutchings said it didn't matter that his son was killed in a friendly fire incident, adding that accidents always happen. "My son was there, he died for his country," he said.

"The Iraqis are free. We see their happy faces and realize he wasn't there for vain," he said, adding that seeing those television images had diminished hope that his son was alive. "It had been too long. There had been no word."

No funeral arrangements had been made by Sunday night, but Hutchings said he hoped there would be a service by the end of the week.