Army Sgt. Kenneth R. Nichols Jr.
Death: Dec 01, 2009
of Chrisman Ill.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion 12th Infantry Regiment 4th Brigade Combat Team 4th Infantry Division Fort Carson Colo.; Died Dec. 1 in FOB Michigan Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit using small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire. Fort Carson solider killed in Afghanistan The Associated Press FORT CARSON Colo. — A Fort Carson soldier killed in Afghanistan’s Kunar province was looking forward to coming home for Christmas during a two-week break from the battlefield this month family members said. Twenty-eight-year-old Sgt. Kenneth R. Nichols Jr. who grew up in Chrisman Ill. was killed Tuesday when his unit was attacked by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades the Department of Defense said Friday. He is survived by his wife and four children including a 9-month-old daughter Pailynn. Nichols was assigned in Fort Carson’s 2nd Battalion 12th Infantry Regiment 4th Brigade Combat Team 4th Infantry Division. “He always smiled. He loved life he was happy and he made everyone around him want to be a better person” his widow Lexi Nichols told The Gazette in Colorado Springs. The four-year Army veteran had served a tour in Iraq from October 2006 to December 2007. He loved playing pranks riding his Harley Davidson and hanging out in a shed he built behind his Colorado Springs home. While deployed Nichols chatted on the computer with his wife for 5 or 10 minutes a day. He had been looking forward to seeing his children during a two-week break that was to have started Dec. 16. His family said he would be buried in the Danville National Cemetery in Illinois. * * * * * Soldier enjoyed riding Harley when off duty The Associated Press Relatives of Kenneth R. Nichols Jr. said he was looking forward to coming home for Christmas and seeing his four children during a two-week break from the battlefield. It would have started in mid-December. But the 28-year-old who grew up in Chrisman Ill. Died Dec. 1 in Kunar province Afghanistan of wounds from an attack involving small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. He had graduated in 2000 from Georgetown-Ridge Farm High School in Georgetown Ill. He joined the Army five years later and was assigned to Fort Carson Colo. He previously had served a tour in Iraq in 2006 and 2007. “He always smiled” said his wife Lexi. “He loved life he was happy and he made everyone around him want to be a better person.” He also loved riding his Harley-Davidson playing pranks woodworking and hanging out in a shed he built behind his Colorado Springs home. While deployed Nichols chatted on the computer with his wife for five or 10 minutes a day. Survivors include his children — Brhyleigh Kenneth III Branden and an infant daughter Pailynn — as well as two sisters Lisa and Cindy.Operation Enduring Freedom