Nicholas James Parisi

Rank: Private, U.S. Army

Unit: Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Carson, Colorado

Hometown: Bellmawr, New Jersey

Died: April 28, 2004, Cheyenne Canyon, Colorado Springs, Colorado (rock climbing accident)

Buried: New St. Mary’s Cemetery, Bellmawr, New Jersey

Private Nicholas James Parisi, 18, of Bellmawr, died April 28, 2004, in a rock climbing accident in Cheyenne Canyon in Colorado Springs, Colorado, just two weeks after returning from a year of service in Iraq. Parisi had arrived in Iraq in late April 2003 as major combat operations were winding down, serving in Kirkuk as a tank crew member qualified as driver, loader, or gunner. He returned to Fort Carson on April 12, 2004. On April 28, while free-climbing a granite peak called the Pinnacle with another soldier, he lost his grip near the top and fell 300 to 400 feet to his death. He was a 2003 graduate of Triton High School in Runnemede, an avid volunteer with the Bellmawr Fire Company, and the Camden County Junior Firefighter of the Year for 2002 and 2003. He is survived by his father, Michael J. Parisi; stepmother, Anita L. (nee Giaccardo) Parisi; and siblings Michael A., Amanda M., and Allysa M. Parisi; as well as his grandparents Frank and Shirley Parisi. His memory is honored by the Nicholas J. Parisi Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Just days after returning from Iraq, Pvt. Nicholas Parisi died while rock climbing in Cheyenne Canyon. On Wednesday afternoon, the 18-year-old was free-climbing with a friend. He was unable to negotiate a ledge as he approached the top of his climb, and fell 300 feet. Colorado Springs Fire rescuers were able to retrieve his body. Fort Carson officials say Pvt. Parisi was from Bellmawr, New Jersey. He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 68th Armor. He had just returned from deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom on April 12th.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A Fort Carson soldier who fell to his death during a rock climbing outing was identified Thursday as an 18-year-old from New Jersey. Pvt. Nicholas Parisi of Bellmawr, NJ, fell 350 feet to 400 feet Wednesday during a climb with another man in Cheyenne Canyon in southwest Colorado Springs. Fort Carson officials said Parisi was stationed with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team and had recently returned from a year spent in Iraq. Authorities said Parisi lost his grip near the top of a granite formation called the Pinnacle. His friend tried to grab for him and then used his cell phone to call for help.

By Edward Colimore, Inquirer Staff Writer

Eighteen-year-old Army Pvt. Nicholas Parisi of Bellmawr, N.J., survived the dangers of Iraq for a year and was home rock climbing this week near Colorado Springs, Colo., when an accident took his life.

Parisi was scaling rocks in Cheyenne Canyon when he failed to negotiate a ledge and plummeted 350 to 400 feet to his death, authorities said. A 19-year-old fellow soldier reached out to Parisi but could not grab the New Jersey man as he lost his grip near the top of a granite formation called the Pinnacle, authorities said.

Parisi had been home only two weeks when the accident occurred Wednesday.

“It’s not ironic; it’s tragic,” said Richard Bridges, a civilian spokesman at Fort Carson, Colo., where Parisi was stationed. “We feel his loss just as if he was lost in Iraq.”

Parisi arrived in Iraq in late April 2003 as major combat operations were winding down. He served in Kirkuk. He was a tank crew member, qualified as a driver, loader or gunner, Bridges said. He was assigned to the headquarters and headquarters company of the First Battalion, 68th Armor.

“His unit was involved in many operations,” Bridges said. “They were constantly rounding up bad guys and finding weapons caches.”

Parisi returned home April 12 and had been — along with other soldiers — getting back into new routines, decompressing after the long, hazardous deployment. On Wednesday afternoon, he and his friend Robert Taylor were free-climbing when Parisi fell, Bridges said. Taylor used his cell phone to call for help. Colorado Springs Fire rescuers retrieved the body.

Yesterday, funeral arrangements were being made by Parisi’s family with Gardner Funeral Home in Runnemede. They were incomplete. Parisi’s body was expected to be flown in over the weekend.

“He was a young man who served his country,” Bridges said.

Suddenly on April 28, 2004, of Bellmawr. Age 18. Loving son of Michael J. and Anita L. (nee Giaccardo) and the late Susanne (nee Glick). Brother of Michael A., Amanda M. and Allysa M. Also survived by his grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles. Nicholas was a member of Bellmawr Fire Dept. #1. He was the Junior Firefighter of the Year for Camden County from 2002 to 2003 and a graduate of Triton High School. Nicholas was also a soldier in the U.S. Army. There will be a viewing from 6 to 9pm Wednesday eve and 9 to 9:45am Thursday morning at Gardner Funeral Home, Runnemede. Funeral Mass 10:30am Thursday at Mary, Mother of the Church, Bellmawr. Interment New St. Mary’s Cemetery, Bellmawr. The family requests in lieu of flowers donations be made to the family C/O Michael Parisi, 316 Lincoln Ave., Bellmawr, NJ 08031.

By Erik Schwartz

Nicholas Parisi died doing what he loved. In one of his family’s most indelible memories, an 8-year-old Nicky climbed nearly to the top of a huge tree in the Parisis’ Bellmawr back yard.

“I can see Grandma and Grandpa’s house,” he announced.

At his funeral Thursday, Msgr. James A. Carr noted that scaling such heights a decade later led to his demise. Parisi, 18, an Army private stationed at Fort Carson, Colo., was free-climbing a granite peak in Colorado Springs called the Pinnacle with another soldier when he slipped and fell some 400 feet to his death. Rock climbing above 10 feet without safety gear or ropes is prohibited in Colorado Springs, a city official said.

“That was his life. He took chances,” the monsignor said. “Most of the chances worked out.”

Frank Parisi tearfully recalled his grandson during the service at Mary, Mother of the Church.

“Nicky’s in heaven now, and he’s looking for the tallest tree,” Parisi told some 500 mourners.

He said the boy that arrived in his powder room, five weeks premature in 1985, faced tragedy while still very young. Nicholas’ mother, Susanne, died when he was 6 years old. He grew up idolizing his older brother, Michael, while fiercely protecting his younger sister, Amanda. His father, Michael, remarried, and the family watched Nicholas thrive as an athlete and as a volunteer with the Bellmawr Fire Company. He played nose guard for the Triton High School football team and earned the Camden County Junior Firefighter of the Year award in 2002 and 2003.

“He was a real aggressive player, a real good kid,” said Mike Matteo, 19, a Triton teammate. “He was always trying to better himself.”

When he decided to enlist in the Army after graduating from high school last year, Nicholas told his grandfather.

“I tried to talk him out of it, but his mind was made up,” Parisi said. “He left, and he never came back.”

Nicholas Parisi began basic training last summer and shipped out to Iraq soon after it concluded. He returned to Fort Carson last month and had been assigned to 1st Battalion, 68th Armor.

“I believe with all my heart that Nicholas is in a better place,” Carr said.

On the procession to the New St. Mary’s Cemetery, six Bellmawr firefighters, dressed in formal blue uniforms and white gloves, accompanied Nicholas’ coffin atop a firetruck. Dozens of his friends and family members walked behind the truck as it wound through the borough’s streets.