They came to say farewell to a local hero.
Family, friends and members of the public packed a Riverside church Saturday, Sept. 18, for an approximately two-hour final salute to Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Mae’Lee Grant Nikoui.
Before the service, a solemn and quiet crowd of hundreds watched as the Norco resident’s casket was carried into Harvest Christian Fellowship. Later, the celebration-of-life service began, as a massive flag dangled from the raised ladder of Riverside Fire Department truck outside the church.
The service included speeches, songs and a video of Nikoui’s life that started with photos of him as a young boy and showed him with his siblings, wearing his Marine uniform, skiing and at jiu-jitsu tournaments.
The 20-year-old former Jr. ROTC student — who graduated from Norco High School in 2019 — was killed in an attack on Afghanistan’s Kabul airport Aug. 26, days before the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops.
The fallen Marine, one of 13 service members who died in that bombing, has been honored at a handful of public remembrance ceremonies the past few weeks.
The service began with the song, “Lord, I Need You” and included tunes such as “The Days of Elijah,” which a speaker said was special to Nikoui while he was at Camp Pendleton.
Shyler Chappell, Nikoui‘s sister spoke, telling those in the nearly full auditorium that “Kareem had been talking about becoming a Marine for as long as I can remember.”
He even used to camp in a tent in their backyard, she recalled.
Chappell said she heard how her brother went back inside the Kabul airport to pull children to safety.
“It didn’t surprise me that those were his last moments,” she said.
Phil Wozniak, pastor of Grace Fellowship Church Norco, which Nikoui attended, also addressed the young man’s last act.
He pulled three families to safety at the Kabul airport — “and then he went back for a small child when the bomb went off,” Wozniak said.
“He died doing what he loved.”
Steve Nikoui, the Marine’s father, choked up as he shared about his son. He had a great sense of humor and was particularly successful at jiu-jitsu, becoming a champion, Steve Nikoui said.
Shana Chappell, mom of slain Marine Lance Cpl Kareem Nikoui, is hugged by hundreds at the public celebration-of-life service for Kareem on Saturday, Sept. 18 at 11 a.m. at Harvest Christian Fellowship Church in Riverside. @pressenterprise pic.twitter.com/3HQy4lvzc6
— Cindy Yamanaka (@Cyamanaka7) September 18, 2021
Harvest Pastor Greg Laurie called Kareem Nikoui “a genuine American hero, Mr. Red, White and Blue.”
He posed the question: “Why did God allow this to happen?” And answered by saying: “There is no answer to the why question.”
Still, this is a time to mourn, Laurie told the crowd.
“You need to cry. You need to cry a lot. The Bible says there is a time to laugh and a time to mourn … We grieve hopefully because we we will see Kareem again.”
As the service concluded, the audience stood while “Taps” was played.
“All gave some, some gave all,” a recorded song declared as photos of a uniformed Nikoui filled the giant screen.
Nikoui was brought home Friday, Sept. 17, a day after U.S. Central Command announced the service members who died last month would be posthumously awarded Purple Hearts for their sacrifice. The medals will go to their next of kin.
A Friday afternoon procession from Ontario International Airport saw flag-waving residents turn out along the route through Norco and to Pierce Brothers Crestlawn Mortuary in Riverside.
Two other Marines from the Inland area died in the bombing: Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga and Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio.
A memorial service was staged Saturday morning in Palm Springs for Lopez.
A procession to salute Merola is set for Tuesday, Sept. 21; his funeral will be Sunday, Sept. 26, in Covina.
At Harvest, the large crowd Saturday included Kris Hager, of Parrish, Florida, who came to comfort Nikoui’s family.
“I lost my son in ‘07,” he said. “I know what it’s like.”
Also among the guests was Norco resident Jessica Rodriguez and her 7-year-old son, Easton Berns.
“It hit our town hard. Very hard,” Rodriguez said.
Easton, who knows the Nikoui family, said, “I’m sad.”
Rodriguez added that, despite the loss, it has “been great to see the community come together for this.”
The crowd included Faataitai Atuatasi, who came from Garden Grove to Riverside for the service.
He didn’t know the Marine but said his heart went out to the family and he wanted to pay his respects.
“He was part of the family of America,” Atuatasi said.
Staff writer Brian Whitehead contributed to this report.
