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Wounded OIF vet gets new lease on leadership

14 Jul 2005 | Lance Cpl. Antonio Rosas Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Col. Larry D. Nicholson is taking his second stab at leading a regiment, even though his first stint lasted less than a day — and almost killed him.

It was a rude “welcome aboard” for Nicholson on Sept. 14, 2004, when Iraqi insurgents blasted his command post with a 122 mm rocket.

The attack killed Nicholson’s communications officer, Lt. Col. Kevin Shea, merely hours after Nicholson assumed command of 1st Marine Regiment in Fallujah.

“Immediately following the attack, I got up and remember stumbling around,” said Nicholson, who was handed the reins of 5th Marine Regiment Friday in a change-of-command ceremony at 5th Marine Regiment. “I remember the other guy in the building (Shea) was not responding. I slipped in and out of consciousness several times.”

Nicholson spent the next month recovering at Bethesda Naval Hospital.

“I had a volleyball-size hole in my back,” Nicholson said.

Doctors worked around the clock to repair Nicholson’s shoulder, left tricep and scapula muscles. Extensive skin grafting was needed to repair the damaged muscles.

Three months after the attack, he returned to Iraq. Instead of assuming command of the regiment as originally planned, Nicholson got his old job back as assistant chief of staff of operations for the 1st Marine Division.

This time around, there were no insurgents to prevent Nicholson from carrying out his duties on his first day as regimental commander.

He accepted command from Col. R. Stewart Navarre, who will become Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton’s chief of staff.

Although still recovering from wounds sustained nearly 10 months ago, Nicholson showed no ill effects during the change of command, with nary a limp, hobble or halting movement.

“I am just thrilled to be back in the Division again and feel great,” Nicholson said. “Nine surgeries later, I am back where I want to be, leading Marines.”

The 5th Marine Regiment — the highest-decorated regiment in the Marine Corps — was the first unit to cross the line of departure into Iraq on March 21, 2003.

Wounded OIF vet gets new lease on leadership

14 Jul 2005 | Lance Cpl. Antonio Rosas Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Col. Larry D. Nicholson is taking his second stab at leading a regiment, even though his first stint lasted less than a day — and almost killed him.

It was a rude “welcome aboard” for Nicholson on Sept. 14, 2004, when Iraqi insurgents blasted his command post with a 122 mm rocket.

The attack killed Nicholson’s communications officer, Lt. Col. Kevin Shea, merely hours after Nicholson assumed command of 1st Marine Regiment in Fallujah.

“Immediately following the attack, I got up and remember stumbling around,” said Nicholson, who was handed the reins of 5th Marine Regiment Friday in a change-of-command ceremony at 5th Marine Regiment. “I remember the other guy in the building (Shea) was not responding. I slipped in and out of consciousness several times.”

Nicholson spent the next month recovering at Bethesda Naval Hospital.

“I had a volleyball-size hole in my back,” Nicholson said.

Doctors worked around the clock to repair Nicholson’s shoulder, left tricep and scapula muscles. Extensive skin grafting was needed to repair the damaged muscles.

Three months after the attack, he returned to Iraq. Instead of assuming command of the regiment as originally planned, Nicholson got his old job back as assistant chief of staff of operations for the 1st Marine Division.

This time around, there were no insurgents to prevent Nicholson from carrying out his duties on his first day as regimental commander.

He accepted command from Col. R. Stewart Navarre, who will become Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton’s chief of staff.

Although still recovering from wounds sustained nearly 10 months ago, Nicholson showed no ill effects during the change of command, with nary a limp, hobble or halting movement.

“I am just thrilled to be back in the Division again and feel great,” Nicholson said. “Nine surgeries later, I am back where I want to be, leading Marines.”

The 5th Marine Regiment — the highest-decorated regiment in the Marine Corps — was the first unit to cross the line of departure into Iraq on March 21, 2003.