Remembrance Ceremony Held For Fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui Saturday In Norco
NORCO (CBSLA) - On Saturday, the community of Norco held a ceremony to remember fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, along with 12 other US service members, killed in the bombing attack outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August.
"I'm a teacher at Norco high and we lost Kareem. We still have his brother with us. He's a junior. I wanted to be here to support the family, to show support to our community," Jacobs said. "It's very hard and it's hitting our school very hard. We've had moments of silence and some of our kids are struggling," said Norco High teacher Jen Jacobs.
Nikoui, who was 20-years-old, was from Norco, went to Norco High School and was baptized at Grace Fellowship Church.
The ceremony drew a massive show of support, with hundreds of people from the community gathering at George Ingalls Equestrian Event Center to honor the fallen Marine and his family.
Nikoui's mother sat in the front row as the fallen 20-year-old's pastor, his ROTC leader and the town's mayor took the time to honor the young man, who many have said was passionate about becoming a Marine, as well as all veterans for the sacrifices they've made.
"It's heartbreaking in relation to his mom, how young he is. He was a young man doing all the right things, pursuing a career in the military, representing his country in a foreign country, helping in the way he could," Norco resident Michael Nunez said.
City officials said that Nikoui's name will be engraved in the "Lest We Forget" wall at the George A. Ingalls Veteran's Memorial Plaza.