Nov 11, 2004 4:33 pm US/Central

A Marine from the western suburbs died in the fight for Fallujah, making this a painful Veterans Day for his family and friends.

Nineteen-year-old Marine Lance Corporal Nicholas Larson was killed Tuesday during street battles against insurgents in Iraq. Larson was a graduate of Wheaton North High School, where he was remembered by students Thursday.

The Wheaton School District had classes on Veterans Day for the first time because administrators thought it important to teach the lessons of gratitude for military service. At Wheaton North, the loss of Larson took center stage at a school assembly.

The color guard prepared the flags. The orchestra fine tuned its rendition of “America, the Beautiful, and a graduate's photograph was shown on a giant screen during a Veterans Day assembly.

Television cameras weren't allowed to show Wheaton North’s actual program, but we were allowed to see the rehearsal.

Teachers were expecting an emotional response, especially when a moment of silence would honor the memory of 19-year old Larson. He's remembered as a student who always knew he would become a Marine.

"He was focused, determined. He had his vision, you could tell he was going to follow that," said assistant principal Jason Stipp.

"Knowing the dangers, he was aware of them but he was adamant, that's what he saw in himself," said school counselor Kim Szymkowiak.

The school has been in crisis mode since students learned Wednesday that a 2003 graduate had been killed fighting in Fallujah. Students already have talked with school counselors about their sorrow.

"He does have a sister," Szymkowiak said. "Her friends are very distraught. The whole school is having an extremely hard time with it."

It's the first time Wheaton schools have had classes on Veterans Day.

Larson's parents declined to be interviewed, but a family spokesman says they received an upbeat e-mail from their son last week. They say Larson was proud of the work he was doing in Iraq and expected to come home in a couple of months.