Hometown: Richmond, VA
Branch: U.S. Marine Corps
Unit: 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, HI
Military Honors: Bronze Star with Valor, Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: May 8, 2005 - KIA in Alishang, Afghanistan 
Age: 21
Conflict: War in Afghanistan, 2001-2021

While attending Douglas S. Freeman High School in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia, Nicholas Kirven considered himself to be directionless. At age 17, after the 9/11 attacks, Kirven found his sense of purpose and signed up to be a Marine.

“He needed to join the Marines because it’s the toughest branch of service,” his stepfather Michael Belle said. After high school graduation in 2002, Kirven was off to boot camp at Paris Island, South Carolina. He told his family that he “actually enjoyed it.” Kirven completed grueling training in rock climbing and swimming, and eventually joined Special Operations.

He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force out of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Kirven was deployed to Afghanistan on October 31, 2004.

Cpl. Kirven was known to his fellow Marines and to his superiors as a strong leader and as a proficient instructor in his specialties as a Marine Corps Water Survival Instructor, and as an assault climber.

He was also known for caring for the children in war-ravaged Afghanistan. “I remember Nick giving out toys, candy, food, and whatever else he had to local kids while we were out on patrol,” said Cpl. Nick Collier. “I remember him looking at their smiles and saying, ‘See, it really makes it all worthwhile.’”

According to his mother, Beth Belle, “Nicholas loved the kids overseas; he’d send photos back of him with the kids, giving them toys, and things like that.”

A month before his tour in Afghanistan was to conclude, Kirven spoke about his future in an email to his stepfather. “I’m still thinking of the college thing next fall but not sure where," Kirven wrote. “I’ve now gained the maturity and discipline needed to excel in school. I doubt I would have done well at 18.” Kirven talked about attending George Mason University and working for his stepfather’s construction company on the side.

Kirven told his parents he was proud of what the Marines were accomplishing in Afghanistan, and said he enjoyed the work of rebuilding the country more than hunting down al Qaeda.

On May 8, 2005—just three weeks before Kirven’s tour was to end—he and his fellow Marines engaged in a firefight with insurgents, driving them into a cave in Alishang, 60 miles east of Kabul, Afghanistan.

Aircraft were called in to bomb the cave. Kirven, the squad leader, and fellow Marine Cpl. Richard Schoener went inside after the bombing to assess the situation. Inside the cave, they were ambushed by insurgents. In the ensuing firefight, more than 20 insurgents were killed and both Nicholas Kirven and Schoener (age 22, from Hayes, Louisiana) were lost.

Nicholas Kirven was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor, the Purple Heart, and was posthumously promoted to the rank of Corporal. Nicholas is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., in Section 60 Site 8180.

Sources
Card Photo provided by Ms. Geri Thomason
Travis Manion Foundation: Nicholas Kirven
Arlington National Cemetery: Nicholas Cain Kirven - Lance Corporal, United States Marine Corps
Task Force Trinity: Nicholas Kirven
Washington Post, Faces of the Fallen: Lance Cpl. Nicholas C. Kirven
Washington Post: Va. Family Mourns Marine Killed in Afghan Fighting
Huffpost: Virginia Mother Creates Fund For Her Fallen Son
The Flint Journal: Cpl. Nicholas C. Kirven
Burial Site: Find a Grave