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Cpl. Patrick Nixon, U.S.M.C (KIA)
Marines tell family Overton grad dead
BY BRAD SCHRADE and MICHAEL CASS
Staff Writers
Patrick Nixon, an Overton High School graduate, will never fulfill his hope of becoming a history teacher and owning a piece of land in the country. The 21-year-old corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps was declared dead yesterday by the military, a victim of an Iraqi military ambush a week ago.
The news came yesterday morning to his father's home on Duncan Street in Gallatin, ending a torturous four days for family members since they learned Wednesday that Nixon was on the military's missing list. Ginger Ford, Nixon's sister, said two Marines came at about 8:30 a.m. The first sergeant and major, who had visited in plainclothes the night before, were in uniform this time.
''I basically just went to my knees at that point,'' Ford said.
Her father, David Nixon, started walking down the street, with one Marine trying to console him. Ford's four daughters, who were among five nieces and two nephews Patrick Nixon adored, ''were hysterical,'' she said.
''I had a lot of faith that God would bring him home,'' Ford said. Later, she went to church, ''scared of losing as much faith as I felt like I was losing.''
Nixon had joined the Marines after graduating from Overton in 2000 and had set the goal of becoming a teacher after joining the military, said his friend Wendy Bledsoe, whose younger brother Jonathan was one of Nixon's best friends.
Nixon lived with the Bledsoe family for a time during his high school days. Bledsoe, 29, said he was a ''a good guy'' who ''was like another younger brother.''
''Patrick was a very sweet kid,'' she said. ''He wanted to live on a farm, get some horses and teach history.''
She said Nixon and her brother and one of their friends had joined the Marines together. Nixon had called her mother in January from Camp Lejeune, N.C., before they shipped out for the Middle East.
''He called her and told her that he loved her and he loved me,'' Bledsoe said. ''He wanted her to know that if anything happened to him, he loved her and was thankful for her opening her home to him.''
Nixon was one of eight Marines listed as missing after they were ambushed eight days ago while trying to secure a bridge in Nasiriyah. He is one of about 40 U.S. servicemen who have been killed in the war. The Marines did not know any specifics on where Nixon was found or whether the other Marines listed Thursday as missing were dead, as well, Ford said.
Bledsoe said she got the news from an aunt of Nixon's yesterday.
The aunt had told her that Nixon was killed in action and that it was quick and that he had not been a prisoner.
Nixon was the youngest of four children in a blended family. Most of the men in his extended family had joined the armed forces and fought for the United States abroad. A great-grandfather, a grandfather, his father and both of his brothers had served.
Nixon started his Marine career in Parris Island, S.C., and Okinawa, Japan, before he was assigned to Camp Lejeune about two years ago. He was promoted from lance corporal to corporal a few months ago.
Nixon was ''strong as an ox,'' his father said. He stayed trim and fit and ''could outsmart anybody,'' Ford said.
Ford said her brother, who always wanted to eat at Waffle House on his trips home, had said he was somewhat scared about going to Iraq. But he never wanted to be let off the hook. He saw the fight as an important battle in the war on terrorism.
''Most of him was excited about going,'' she said. ''He didn't want to be one of the ones who didn't go. He wanted to go and do what he was trained to do. He wanted to help prevent anything else from happening to his family here.
''He told me he wouldn't quit if he could,'' she said. ''He said he was going to go over there and do his job and be back in a few months.''
Bledsoe said her brother was in Iraq with the same group from Camp Lejeune but was in a different unit than Nixon's. She said she told her brother to look out for Nixon and to get home safe.
''I hope when Jonathan's home we'll go to Pat's grave together,'' Bledsoe said. ''I'm sure Jonathan will want to go alone at first. I'm sure he's pretty angry and pretty sad. I'm sure he's gritting his teeth and hating the sand.''
In the line of duty (Editorial)
About 250 people gathered on Sunday at the Gallatin City Hall to honor slain Marine Cpl. Patrick Nixon, but Nixon's family and friends need to know this entire region mourns his death.
Cpl. Nixon, a graduate of Nashville's Overton High School, died in the war in Iraq, the victim of an Iraqi military ambush. His family was told Sunday morning.
The loss hits hard, and it hits close to home, because Cpl. Nixon, 21, was one of our own. He was described as a ''sweet kid,'' ''a good guy,'' ''strong as an ox.'' He wanted to be a history teacher. He wanted to own land in the country. He liked to eat at Waffle House. He was like so many 21-year-olds from this area, full of talent, ambition and commitment to his job.
But Cpl. Nixon's job ranked at the top of what this nation stands for. His loss reminds this region that the battle is not really so distant, not just news to follow, but an example of the brutal personal reality of war. It represents all at once the horror and the dread families of our soldiers face daily, yet with a giant swell of pride forever for the service he gave us all.
The Nashville area has felt a strong personal connection to the war in Iraq from the outset, primarily from the proximity to the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell, Ky. But the loss of Cpl. Nixon puts an especially human face on the war, because it is a local soldier killed in the line of duty to his country.
As with any death, it is difficult to find the right words to express the sense of loss and sorrow to Cpl. Nixon's family and friends. But in this case, although not everyone in the community knew him, the community can say for certain it admired Cpl. Patrick Nixon. It respected him for the job he sought out, and it felt indebted to him for his sacrifice in defense of this nation. That debt is now extended from the community to those to whom he was closest.
May Cpl. Patrick Nixon be the last soldier this community will have to mourn.