Ever since he was a junior in high school, Nick Palmer wanted to be a Marine.
He died in Iraq over the weekend as a Marine, living the military principles that had been instilled in him. His family said Palmer, 19, of Leadville, was killed by a sniper. He was patrolling in a Humvee in Fallujah at the time.
He talked often of the Marine code of honor, courage and commitment before his death, his family said.
“He believed in that code, and he lived by that code every day,” said his mother, Rachele Palmer.
Even as the Iraq war drew more headlines of violence, Palmer was drawn to the war, his family said.
His father, Brad, recalled that one day his son came home and told him he was ready to join the Marines.
Brad Palmer told him at the time: “You know, you’re going to Iraq then?”
“Let’s go,” the son shot back.
His father said Nick trained hard. Already fit from time spent in the weight room in high school and playing football for Lake County High School, he took up running.
He would run up to 10 miles every day, carrying a 40-pound backpack.
Brad Palmer was offensive and defense line coach for the high school football team and coached his son. Nick played as both an offensive and defensive lineman.
“Being my son, he got picked on the most, but he also stepped up to the challenge the most,” the father recalled.
During the summers, Nick Palmer worked for Lake County, doing lawn maintenance on the ballfields.
His parents learned of his death Saturday afternoon after returning home from a Christmas party. Brad Palmer said he thought the visitors coming up to the door were Jehovah’s Witnesses. When he saw his wife crying, he realized the bad news.
The family received a stream of visitors throughout the day Sunday. They said that more than 150 of Nick Palmer’s high school friends had come to pay their respects.
His brother also is serving in the military.
He is in U.S. Navy, stationed in Washington.
Brad Palmer said he had talked to Nick about three weeks ago by phone from Iraq.
He said at that time, Nick told him he was working the machine gun on the Humvee and didn’t like the assignment.
“He felt like a target,” the father said. “He was proved right.”
Staff writer Christopher N. Osher can be reached at 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com.
