Marine Reached Beyond His Mission

1st Lieutenant Wanted to Improve Lives of Afghans

Marine 1st Lt. Nicholas A. Madrazo volunteered to go to Afghanistan because he wanted to serve and make a difference, his family said. He immersed himself in the country's culture, delighting in bringing smiles to Afghan children's faces with trinkets he asked his parents to send him from home.

Madrazo, 25, of Bothell, Wash., was killed Sept. 9 by a roadside bomb in Parwan province, according to the Defense Department.

He was laid to rest yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery. More than 60 friends and family members attended the service.

"Nic loved what he was doing," his uncle, Oliver Feeback, told the Daily Herald of Everett, Wash. "He believed in what he was doing, and Nic gave the ultimate sacrifice for his family, friends and his country."

A Marine Corps band playing "Onward, Christian Soldiers" guided mourners along the north side of Section 60 at the cemetery to Madrazo's gravesite, near a wreath rimmed with flowers representing the Marine colors of scarlet and gold.

A flag was presented to Madrazo's parents, Joel and Jenny Madrazo, by Capt. Michael McTeague, who shook the hands of family members seated in the front row.

Madrazo was assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 37, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Okinawa, Japan.

"The command is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Nicholas Madrazo," Col. Thomas A. Gorry, the regiment's commanding officer, said in a statement. "He was both well respected and admired by his fellow Marines. Our deepest thoughts and prayers are with his family."

Madrazo joined the Marine Corps in 2005 and arrived in Okinawa in July 2007. A communications officer, he was promoted to 1st lieutenant in May 2007 and deployed to Afghanistan in March. Among the awards he received were the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Combat Action Ribbon.

"When he got to Afghanistan, he immersed himself in the culture," Madrazo's father told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "His job was to go to villages and meet with tribal leaders to find out what their needs were -- one was paving the surrounding of a mosque. He loved working, having that kind of responsibility."

Madrazo asked his parents to send him paper, pencils and pens as gifts for children he met. His father said he wanted to send the message that soldiers had other jobs to do, such as "trying to improve the lives of the local people."

Madrazo was the 504th member of the military killed in Iraq or Afghanistan to be buried at Arlington Cemetery. He was killed in the same incident that killed Capt. Jesse Melton III, a Maryland Marine buried last week at Arlington.

Melton's mother, Janice Chance, attended Madrazo's funeral. She stood behind Madrazo's parents, placing her hands on their shoulders. After the burial, they walked together to Melton's grave, cemetery officials said.

A neighbor who had known Madrazo since they were 7, Beth Flansburg, created a Facebook page, according to the Bothell Reporter. "In Memory of Nic Madrazo" had nearly 700 members. "He was loved by many," Flansburg wrote. "He was a good son, brother, cousin, friend, neighbor and Marine. His smile and laugh were contagious."