Marine Cpl. Nicholas G. Xiarhos

Died July 23, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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21, of Yarmouth Port, Mass.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died July 23 at Camp Dwyer, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained while supporting combat operations in Helmand province. Also killed were Sgt. Ryan H. Lane and Lance Cpl. Jeremy S. Lasher.

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Marine remembered as motivated, selfless
The Associated Press

At 6 feet, Nicholas G. Xiarhos (ex-AHR'-ose) was muscular and strong, but gentle at heart. After returning from service in Iraq, he changed battalions so he could be deployed to Afghanistan.

“He didn’t feel comfortable living an easy life,” said his mother, Lisa. “He just wanted to fight.”

Xiarhos, 21, of Yarmouth, Mass., was killed July 23 in a roadside bombing in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was a 2006 high school graduate and was assigned to Camp Lejeune.

Cpl. Matthew Madeux said Xiarhos was “one of the most phenomenal Marines” he ever met. At Camp Lejeune, he was always the first to make sure young Marines minded their manners around women, insisting they use the formal “ma’am.”

Paul Funk, Xiarhos’s high school football and baseball coach, remembered him as a motivated, selfless player. “I know he was doing something that he really believed in,” he said.

Rebecca M. Barbo, a close friends, remembered their drives around the Cape blasting classic rock. She said his peers voted to present him the “Does Most For Others” title their senior year.

“It was a no-brainer,” she said.

He also is survived by his father, Steven.

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Senate approves Cape Cod honor for fallen Marine
The Associated Press

YARMOUTH, Mass. — The state Senate has approved the naming of a bridge in Yarmouth after a local Marine killed in Afghanistan.

The legislation allows the North Dennis Road overpass over Route 6 to be named after U.S. Marine Cpl. Nicholas Xiarhos.

The 21-year-old Xiarhos was killed in July 2009 by a roadside bomb. He grew up in Yarmouth and was the son of Yarmouth Deputy Police Chief Steven Xiarhos and his wife Lisa. He used the bridge to get from his home to Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School.

Steven Xiarhos tells the Cape Cod Times he's "humbled, honored and proud."

The proposal won House approval June 28. It now goes to Gov. Deval Patrick for his signature.

The overpass, will be named the Marine Cpl. Nicholas G. Xiarhos Veterans Memorial Overpass.

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Cape Cod bridge to be named after Yarmouth Marine

The Associated Press

DENNIS, Mass. — A dedication ceremony has been scheduled to name a bridge that passes over Route 6 in Dennis in honor of a Marine from Yarmouth who died in Afghanistan.

The ceremony Tuesday morning will name the overpass between exits 8 and 9 on for Cpl. Nicholas Xiarhos.

The 21-year-old Xiarhos was killed by a roadside bomb in July 2009.

He grew up in Yarmouth, was a graduate of Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, and was the son of Yarmouth Deputy Police Chief Steven Xiarhos and his wife, Lisa.

Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill in July to name the overpass after Xiarhos.