A proud soldier who “made an influence wherever he went throughout the world,” Staff
Sergeant Nathan L. Wyrick was interred at Tahoma National Cemetery on Saturday afternoon,
October 22. SSG Wyrick, 34, had lived in Enumclaw and Tacoma, graduating from Franklin
Pierce High School where he ran track and played wide receiver on the football team.
“Whenever you were around Nathan, something good was going to happen,” remembered
Pastor Ronald H. Kearns of SSG Wyrick who had enlisted in the Army in 2006, served
for one year (2008-2009) in Iraq and was killed in action in Afghanistan. “If you
were around Nathan, you were the better for it.” Married with four sons, SSG Wyrick
was praised as a dedicated family man and “someone who wanted to make a difference”—an
admired, respected, and highly effective leader who “had a strong, uplifting word
for all his men.” Shown in these images is the Honor Guard at Tahoma National Cemetery
folding the American flag that draped SSG Wyrick’s casket and his headstone that
marks his gravesite. Images and text by Cary Collins.
