Army Spc. Rob L. Nichols

Died July 23, 2013 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

24, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; assigned to 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; died July 23 in Soltan Kheyl, Afghanistan, of wounds caused by an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Army 1st Lt. Jonam Russell, 25, of Cornville, Ariz., and Army Sgt. Stefan M. Smith, 24, of Glennville, Ga.

Flags lowered for Colorado soldier

The Associated Press

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Flags are flying at half-staff Saturday in honor of a 24-year-old from Colorado Springs who was killed in Afghanistan.

Spc. Rob L. Nichols died last month from wounds he suffered when an improvised bomb exploded. Nichols was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Ga.

Gov. John Hickenlooper ordered flags be lowered from sunrise to sunset Saturday.

Nichols graduated from Sand Creek High School in Colorado Springs in 2007. Nichols received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, both awarded posthumously.

A public funeral is scheduled Saturday morning in Colorado Springs. A private interment will be Monday, Aug. 5.