KRTV

Posted: Mar 10, 2010 7:32 PM
Updated: Mar 11, 2010 9:41 AM

The news of the death of 19-year old Army National Guard Soldier Nick Cook is traveling fast through the Flathead Valley, hitting hard the small community of Hungry Horse.

Cook died when his unit was ambushed while patrolling in Afghanistan.

Canyon Elementary Principal Matt Fawcett tells me he became good friends with Nick as he passed through his elementary years. Fawcett said, "Cook lived a rough young life, but tragically just as his life was on the up, he was taken away from the ones who love him and were so proud of his involvement in the military."

As many principals do, Fawcett had many conversations in his office with students, and with Nick, he quickly learned he was a brilliant and misunderstood 5th-grader.

Fawcett followed his progress through the years and said that Nick's grandmother, the woman who raised him, would glow when she told others about how well he was doing in the Army, and how many times she pulled out pictures to show how proud she was.

Fawcett says that now, it seems the entire community of Hungry Horse is also proud of Nick.

Fawcett noted, "In some aspects, his military service to his country and a representative to this community it was a high point of his life, so there is that 'light' part of this darkness."

(March 9, 2010) Family members and friends are mourning the loss of a Hungry Horse soldier who was killed while serving overseas in Afghanistan.

Nick Cook, 19, died when his unit was ambushed while patrolling in Afghanistan. He served in the United States Army, and was in Afghanistan for 10 months.

Cook was raised by his grandmother Kathy who told us that she was notified of his death on Sunday.

He was a 2008 graduate of Columbia Falls High School and leaves behind a 2-year old daughter.

Cook's grandmother says his body is set to return to Columbia Falls. Friends tell us that Cook loved being outdoors and he was an excellent snowboarder and skateboarder.