Zero2Cool
13 years ago

A week ago, 10-year-old Braydon Nichols started to think about his dad and how much he missed him.

Army Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Nichols, a helicopter pilot, had been deployed for two months in Afghanistan.

The little boy, in the car with his mother running errands, brushed back his dirty-blond hair and ran his hand over his cheek.

Jessica Nichols looked over when she heard sniffles. Her son was crying.

"When is Dad coming back so we go camping?" he asked her.

Soon, she assured him. "Your dad is off fighting for this country."

The boy replied, "As soon as he gets home, we're going to go on a camping trip, just me and him."

Jessica Nichols cannot stop replaying that scene in her mind. That's because only a few days later, on Saturday night, she was cradling her boy who was crying once again. Except this time she could not tell him that his father was coming home. She had just received a call informing her that Bryan Nichols was one of the 30 Americans who died that afternoon when their Chinook helicopter was shot down in Wardak province in east-central Afghanistan.

"It was just so devastating that a week ago or so Braydon had that worried look on his face, thinking about his dad," she said.

"Braydon and Bryan were so connected. Braydon was like a little version of his dad."

Bryan Nichols and Jessica Nichols met in sixth grade. Bryan was a born military buff. His father was a soldier and served in Vietnam. Bryan enlisted in the military before high school graduation. A few years later, he and Jessica married and had Braydon.

Bryan worked his way up through the military ranks.

"He always wanted to be in the Army," she said. "He came across the Chinook and was so fascinated. His father flew Chinooks."

Bryan Nichols did three deployments during their marriage. It proved to be too much for their relationship, she said. They divorced when Braydon was 3, but remained close to raise Braydon.

Bryan remarried, and his new wife and Jessica all got along. They all loved and cared for Braydon, she said.

It was Bryan's wife, Mary, who contacted Jessica Saturday night to say that Bryan had died. "She was screaming," Jessica said. "She was screaming that Bryan was dead."

Jessica couldn't believe what she was hearing. She hung up. Her heart was beating hard. Braydon was in his room, still awake and playing.

Jessica walked toward the room, and stood by his door for a moment, overcome with grief.

"I went to my room and tried to figure out what was going on," she said.

Jessica pulled herself together as best she could and phoned her brother who lives nearby. He came to her house to support her.

Together, they called Braydon downstairs.

In his pajamas, Braydon stood in front of his mother and uncle.

"I said, 'Braydon, do you know much your dad loves you? Do you know how proud of you he is?"

Before she could say anything more, the boy wilted in her arms, sobbing.

"I said, 'I'm sorry ... your ... dad died."

The mother and son held each other and cried. An hour, maybe, went by. At one point Braydon got off the couch and ambled over to a Shih Tzu puppy, Lucy, that his mother bought him when his father got deployed.

He held the dog for awhile. Then he fell asleep for a bit, and she went out to their porch.

The night gave way to day.

On Sunday morning, Jessica and Braydon Nichols watched the national news broadcast the first reports about the downing of a Chinook helicopter. They listened to reporters say that 38 U.S. and Afghan service personnel were killed, including 22 Navy SEALs. It was the single deadliest loss for American troops since the war in Afghanistan began in late 2001.

"Braydon asked me why they weren't showing his dad's picture like they were showing some of the other guys," Jessica Nichols told CNN.com. "I told him it was because people had gone online and were posting photos."

That gave the boy an idea. The two went to the family computer. She pulled up CNN.com.

Braydon started saying, "iReport! iReport!"

Like his father, Braydon is an information sponge. He's always on the hunt for facts, his loves the computer, and he likes watching the news, his mother said. Braydon knew that he could post something about his dad on CNN.com's iReport.

So Jessica Nichols went to the iReport home page. Her son told her what to write.

"My father was one of the 30 US Soldiers killed in Afghanistan yesterday with the Seals rescue mission," she typed. "My father was the pilot of the chinook. I have seen other pictures of victims from this deadly mission and wish you would include a picture of my father. He is the farthest to the left."

See the iReport Braydon posted

He told her to sign his name.

Within hours, the iReport had become viral. Local news outlets across the country reported on it. More than 10,000 people on Facebook re-posted it. Twitter was abuzz about it. Many people left comments, expressing their sorrow for Braydon and telling him to be strong and that his father is a hero.

CNN.com began trying to get in touch with the person who posted the iReport to verify it, first reaching the boy's aunt. Sue Keller of Palco, Kansas, told CNN late Monday night that the boy wanted the country to remember his father not just as a soldier but as a dad.

On Monday night, Braydon's mother told him that a lot of people were talking about his iReport.

"He didn't say anything," she said. "He's been reading it over and over. He doesn't understand the people can post comments so I'm telling him that people are trying to talk to him. He just looks at the comments and then he walks away.

"He says, 'Mom, can we go watch a movie?'"

Late Monday night, Jessica Nichols said she couldn't find her son for a moment. He had disappeared in the house. She was yelling for him.

She found him in a closet, curled up on the floor, crying, going through a box of photo albums.

The boy said he wanted to take one of the photos and put it in his wallet.

He asked her, "'Can we go to be with Dad?'"

She replied that they would go to his father's funeral and they would be there for anything and everything the boy wanted.

"He said, 'Yeah, I'd like to go be with him when he comes home, and I said, 'OK, we will be.'"

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/09/chinook.son.ireport/index.html?hpt=hp_c1 


UserPostedImage
Zero2Cool
13 years ago
Pretty touching story, especially when you start thinking about your soon to be 10 year old having to deal with losing her dad.


UserPostedImage
Pack93z
13 years ago
Wow.. all I can say is Wow did that hit home.
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
dyeah_gb
13 years ago
Very sad and touching story. It really brings the helicopter crash in Afghanistan into a personal light and shows the impact it has on the families back here.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families who have loved ones overseas and especially to those who have had to face their biggest fears in learning that they have lost someone close like Braydon.


The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool - R. Feynman
nyrpack
13 years ago
i love football but dam this brings you back to reality !!
jimmy b.
vikesrule
13 years ago
There is not too much that brings tears to these old eyes, but that breaks my heart.
dfosterf
13 years ago

There is not too much that brings tears to these old eyes, but that breaks my heart.

Originally Posted by: vikesrule 




I try not to tell war stories, and this is hopefully not one, but my wife thinks I came home for her. I came home for my son, he absolutely couldn't deal with it anymore. I forgot to duck again, got lucky, again, (medically) but it was just too much for him.

His name is David, also.

You understand. You also know that I know so many stories just like this, on a very personal level. It's the by-product of a very nasty business life's circumstances finds jarheads in. Shit like this breaks my heart every single time...you don't harden/immunize from it.

I apologize for interjecting my personal stuff in this story, but I wanted to share a sense of some of "our" great fears, when we go off and do what we do. I suspect that you were too young to have this complication, at your time, but again, just wanted to let you know that new shit happens as you grow older in that "field of endeavor"... especially when you fail to keep your "pecker in your pocket" I had no business leaving 4 kids in wonderment as to whether they would ever see their dad again.

With the "age-ing" of the service members, this is more of a problem, the kids.

At least many non- military seem somewhat cognizant of the depth of the commitment that a service-member and his family makes makes- these days... I know you never saw that... the recognition...

I know you Navy boys have several mottos, but the one you should definitely hang your collectively 😰 gay hats on (not that there is anything wrong with that ✋ Sorry, old-school editorial ) is:

"Non sibi sed patriae" That sums up this story, my story, and possibly your story as well. Semper Fi. and I further know that all should be absolutely as grateful for your service as they are for the young lads and lasses doing our nation's defense business these days.

If not so much, then at least know that I "know". (Deviation from the subject "at hand" but not by far, trust me, and sorry. )
Cheesey
13 years ago
As they say, "War is HELL". And it is. There are always wars going on somehwere, and people dying because of it.
I can't wait for Jesus to come back to end these things.

I saw the story on the news last night, and it saddened me also.
UserPostedImage
dfosterf
13 years ago
This is a message from every line Marine I have ever met.

We love you squids, dig the PR and recruiting tool you get out of your SEALS (public bought it)

Stay out of our business, you ain't good at it, and you lack experience...plus, you could actually man up and tell all


over 90 %


Was taught to you...

...That includes BUDS school...

By Marines. What is up with that ?

[-x

The problem is you got plan "b" -skate type -(big thinker-asswipe type) humans trying to become Squid/Seals. They were AFRAID to join the Marines, but they wanna be/think they are/ a stud, or somesuch...

Good luck with all that. :-k

Just let us pros run the show, would ya? Drive your friggin' boat and step aside. I'll give ya a waiver for your attempt at being in the brown - nose - oops, mistake poor word choice--water Navy, even as a wing-wiper...

...Since 1775 to this day, militarily, we are absolutely the best face the United States of America puts forward. We ARE the United States, to the despots/whatever. We might be a hundred, we might be ten thousand. We DON'T MOVE. That takes depth, stones and leadership. We moved ONCE. It took 38 Chinese divisions and a direct order from the President to move Chesty Puller's REGIMENT, at the Chosin Resorvoir during the Korean War, while the doggies cut and ran. We simply advanced in a different direction. Semper Fi, bitch. I know I would never move. You habla "never"? Marine infantry does. We all bet our life on it. There is no reverse, no matter what, period. We WILL defend this country and it's interests, or we will die, and that is a no-shitter that every squid that has ever watched us got off their boat- and watched the remaining men get back on it- knows and respects with precision. When I hear a line Marine or Army soldier goes, I read his story. It's all I can do at this point. They are obviously my personal persons of real interest. Sorry, I'm not God, can't do everyone...would if I could
...Botttom line, cut to the chase- Every Marine in the Infantry spends his (note his) whole day either humping ordnanace, firing ordnance, directing ordnance or learing yet another way to kill his enemy. This goes on while so many of you find new internet sites, new code, whatever, every day, and you stand in wonderment at his arrogance... That is how it goes. It might not seem related (to the op) but it is.

Oh, btw- Did ANYONE around any real Marine/jarhead think he/she was earning the better paycheck than the Marine in question???...

Was he always polite and honorable, in every way?

You mean always?

Thought so. Think about it. THEY defend you, not the REMFS.





I apologize for going so way far off-base. I could tell ya why, but it's yada, yada yada in the big scheme.
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