Army Sgt. Kenneth R. Nichols Jr.

Died December 1, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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28, 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.

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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.

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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.