subscriber servicessubscribecontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Thu, Nov 20 2008 

Published: October 01, 2008 01:03 pm    print this story   email this story   comment on this story  

Special Forces sergeant from Clay County dies in Afghanistan

by Cheryl Caswell
Charleston Daily Mail

CHARLESTON A Clay County family is taking comfort in knowing that their son died in Afghanistan intent on protecting his country.



Sgt. First Class Jamie Nicholas, 34, was one of four soldiers who died Monday, the victims of a roadside bomb. He was serving his second tour of Afghanistan as a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces.



He is the son of Burke and Karen Nicholas of Clay. The family says they will bury their son in the family cemetery.



Karen Nicholas said today, "Jamie died doing what he wanted to do. He wasn't concerned about going over there this time, but I had asked him if he felt we should be there.



"He was adamant," she said. "He said if we are not there, they will be in America. That gives me comfort. We support America."



Nicholas was stationed at Ft. Bragg, N.C. He had a wife, Michelle, and two stepchildren. He spoke to his wife Sunday, the day before he died.



Nicholas said her son joined the Army not long after graduating from Clay County High School in 1994, following in the footsteps of his father, who served 12 years in the Army.



"I am very grateful there are people like him and the other soldiers with him who are willing to do these things so we can do what we want to do," she said.



"Clay County is a very rural area, and he was serving so we can be able to live as we desire here," she said. "I'm very proud of what they do. I pray for our soldiers and their families every day."



Nicholas was the second of six children in his family. And he was not the only one to serve in the military. Another son served for ten years, also stationed at Ft. Bragg. His sister-in-law was due to return to Iraq today.



This was Nicholas' second tour of Afghanistan. He spent seven months there in 2007, his mother said.



"The special forces work with the Afghani army, training and helping them," she said. "They were out among the people. Basically, they were looking for the bad guys."



He always knew how dangerous his job was, and so did his family.



She said there has been a large response from the community as news of her son's death has spread. Nicholas is the first Clay County native to die in the Iraq conflict.

print this story   email this story   comment on this story  

Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.



monster
wheels
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide

Find a job! Find a Home! Find a car!

Premium Jobs

Staff Assistant
STAFF ASSISTANT
West Virginia University Hospitals (WVUH)- Human Resources Department has a full-time
positio
...>MORE

PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
PRODUCTION
SUPERVISOR

Corhart Refractories located in Buckhannon WV has an opening for a Production Sup
...>MORE

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER

Corhart Refractories located in Buckhannon WV has an opening for an Electrical Engineer.
...>MORE

Nursing Positions
Cardiac Professionals:
We Know Your Heart Is In It!
Join Our magnificent Team!

Our expanding Cardia
...>MORE

Auto coordinator & CDL Drivers off22
vCDL Drivers - Mountain state Auto Auction is now hiring dedicated, hard working, Class A CDL truck drivers for in and o...>MORE

Receptionsit
The Marion County Commission is accepting applications for a Full-Time Receptionist / Secretary. An application and job...>MORE

Executive Director
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
STOCKERT YOUTH
CENTER
The Stockert Youth Center seeks an energetic, creative, outgoing
...>MORE

Tender Loving Care Home Health
Tender Loving Care Home Health and
Hospice You can have it all! Life balance.
Competitive salary.
Bar
...>MORE

Drivers
Domino’s Pizza is now
accepting
applications for our Delivery Expert positions. Full & Part time positions ava
...>MORE

ON-SITE SALES MANAGER off22
ON-SITE SALES
MANAGER
New Homes Community
Dan Ryan Builders, a new home builder in MD, PA, VA, WV and SC
...>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2008. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index