Medford Lakes Man, Dad Die In Army Exercises 15 Years Apart

MEDFORD LAKES, NJ - A South Jersey woman has questions after losing both her husband and son in military training exercises 15 years apart.

"Why were they using live rounds around him?" Melissa Di Mona asked NBC 10. "Why would they put him in proximity where he could be shot?"

DiMona was left with questions after learning her son had been killed during live-fire training in Alaska over the weekend. She learned the news 15 years after her husband was killed in a helicopter cash during a training exercise.

She told the news network the last thing she told her son was to "just be careful." He told her, "I'm always careful."

Soon after that call, she learned that her son, 20-year-old Spc. Nicholas Peter DiMona III, of Medford Lakes, was shot and killed.

He was assigned to the Army’s 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, and was training with his unit at Donnelly Training Area near Fort Greely when he was shot, on Saturday, March 30, according to U.S. Army Alaska officials.

He was treated on the scene, then airlifted and taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased, officials said. The incident is under investigation.

DiMona joined the army in July 2017 and trained at Fort Benning, Georgia before being transferred to Alaska last year, officials said. His awards included the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and the parachutist badge.

“Nick was an outstanding paratrooper with an infectious personality and an uncanny desire to excel no matter the challenge,” Col. Jason Jones, brigade commander, said in a statement. “He will be missed by the entire Spartan Brigade. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family.”

Saturday's exercise was part of ongoing readiness training, according to CBS 3. The army was unaware of any previous fatalities related to this type of exercise.

DiMona graduated from Shawnee High School, according to the Courier Post. He was a lifeguard at YMCA of the Pines camps in Medford. He went into the army because he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps.

“Before he went to the military, Nicholas told his mother, ‘If something should happen, you have to go on,’" his grandmother Delores told the Burlington County Times. "She mourned our son for 15 years. To have her own son gone — it’s a bit too much.”

Friends and family paid their respects to DiMona on social media.

"His smile lit up a room, his determination and stubbornness of a bull persevered," one person wrote. "His heart was huge, and he and his family a blessing. His accomplishments continued a legacy. Love for him was so much by so many."

"Nick DiMona was at Ft. Rucker with Dave way back. Nick died in a helicopter crash while training at night," another wrote. "Now, his son, Nicholas Peter DiMona III, lost his life while training. Please pray for the family. Melissa must be devastated. (Nick II’s wife and Nick III’s mother). May God rest their souls and strengthen those who mourn them."