Soldier Honored: Nicholas S. Nolte

Sergeant Nicholas S. Nolte, 25, of Falls City, Neb., was assigned to the 2^nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, 2^nd Marine Aircraft Wing, II Marine Expeditionary Force at  Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., and served during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On November 24, 2004, Sgt. Nolte was killed when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Anbar province, Iraq.

Sgt. Nolte enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating from Sacred Heart Catholic School in 1998. He served in the First Marine Helicopter Squadron and provided security for both President William J. Clinton and President George W. Bush. Sgt. Nolte earned the Joint Service Achievement Medal, a Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, a Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, a Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Meritorious MAST, a Presidential Service Badge, a Global War On Terrorism Service Medal, and the Rifle and Pistol Sharpshooter Badges. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart.

Sgt. Roderuck Shriver, who served with Sgt. Nolte for more than three years, came to his funeral.. He had helped to bring Sgt. Nolte’s body home, accompanying the casket from Maryland to Falls City. “Bringing him home was a great honor, but it’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in the fifteen years I’ve been in the Marine Corps,” Sgt. Shriver said.

Sgt. Nolte’s daughter is a Folds of Honor Scholarship recipient.