Nicolas H. J. Gideon, Army Pfc -- Rest In Peace

Nicolas H. J. Gideon, 20

Army, Private 1st Class
Based: Ft. Richardson, Alaska
1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: July 6, 2009
Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan
Engaged
Gender: Male
Hometown: Murrieta
High School: Chaparral High (Temecula)
Burial: Riverside National Cemetery

His family last saw Gideon in early June when he came home from Afghanistan on leave. "It was so awesome," his mother recalled. They celebrated his stepfather's birthday. And Gideon proposed to his high school girlfriend, Wendy Herman.
"We took so many pictures," Carol Tyndale said. "We had so much fun. Then a week and a half later, he was gone."
In addition to his mother, stepfather and fiancee, Gideon's survivors include five siblings and his father, Hugh Gideon of Las Vegas.

The convoy bringing young Nicolas Hugh Joseph Gideon home included 60 motorcycle escorts from the Patriot Guard Riders, a volunteer group that met the casket on its arrival from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The group accompanied the family home, then to Gideon's funeral at Cornerstone Community Church and burial at Riverside National Cemetery.
Read more about Pfc. Nicolas H.J. Gideon here and here.

As of July, 2009, Nicolas Gideon is the 13th service member from Southwest County to have died while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The others are:
- Marine Capt. Aaron Contreras, 31, of Temecula
- Army Pfc. Daniel Parker, 18, a 2002 graduate of Elsinore High School
- Marine Cpl. Matthew Matula, 20, of Murrieta
- Marine Staff Sgt. Jorge Molina Bautista, 37, of Sun City
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Justin Hunt, 22, a 2000 graduate of Elsinore High School
- Marine Corps Maj. Kevin Shea, 38, of Temecula
- Army Sgt. Stephen Saxton, 24, a 1998 graduate of Temecula Valley High School
- Army Sgt. Nathan Bouchard, 24, a 1999 Elsinore High School graduate
- Marine Staff Sgt. Dexter Kimble, 30, of French Valley
- Marine Lance Cpl. Jeromy West, 20, a 2004 graduate of Hamilton High School in Anza
- Army Capt. Brian Freeman, 31, of Temecula
- Army Specialist Mary Jane Jaenichen, 20, of Temecula