4th Brigade Soldier Killed on Patrol in Afghanistan

A paratrooper from Fort Bragg was killed after being injured in an improvised explosive device blast in Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense announced Thursday night that Cpl. Nicholas Olivas, 20, of Fairfield, Ohio, died May 30 in Zharay, Afghanistan.

Olivas served as an Infantryman with Charlie Troop, 4th Squadron, 73rd Calvary Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

Olivas joined the Army in 2010 and this was his first deployment to Afghanistan. The soldier had been deployed since February.

Awards received by Olivas include: the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Parachutist Badge.

The soldier's parents, Adolfo Olivas, his mother and stepmother went to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Thursday to see his remains transferred from the plane that brought him back to the U.S. Mr. Olivas told the Dayton Daily News that the family watched the dignified transfer on the tarmac from a distance.

According to a Dayton Daily News report, Olivas was the youngest and only son of four children to Adolfo Olivas, who served as Hamilton’s mayor and vice mayor from 1984 to 2002, and Marian Olivas, a Butler County Sheriff’s deputy.

“He was in the last wave of soldiers who were trained as interpreters,” Adolfo Olivas said. “He was up for that job and he excelled at that job.”

“Deep inside, he viewed himself as a protector,” Adolfo Olivas said.

Funeral arrangements are pending, but according to Mr. Olivas, his son had indicated that he wanted to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

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