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2011 Persons Of The Year: LCpl Travis Nelson And Family

NorthEscambia.com is naming Persons of the Year for 2011. The recipients were nominated by our readers as individuals that have a made a difference in North Escambia during the past year — people that have given of themselves to help others and the communities of North Escambia during 2011.

Recipients named so far included the volunteers and supporters of the Health and Hope Clinic, and Northview Athletic Director Sammy Day. and Wade Jernigan and organ donors.

Fallen Marine LCpl. Travis M. Nelson and his family have been named as 2011 North Escambia Persons of the Year.

LCpl. Nelson gave all on the battlefields of Afghanistan in August 2011, and his family has continued to give back to the North Escambia area.

A world was shattered  in August at the Nelson home in Bratt as three men in military uniforms stood at the door. “I just screamed and said no,” Beckie Nelson off Bratt said shortly after she learned that her son, LCpl Travis Nelson, was shot and killed while conducting combat operations in in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  “I just went to my knees and said don’t let them come  in. I knew right away that he was gone.”

It was a tragedy that began a wave an emotions and events that touched the entire North Escambia area and a nation. The community grieved as hundreds if not thousands changed their Facebook profile pictures to a single image in honor of Nelson.  Tears flowed as powerful photos were published that showed an honor guard removed Nelson’s flag-draped coffin from a plane at Dover AFB in Deleware.

The rain poured down at Pensacola Naval Air Station as the final leg of Nelson’s journey home began. The rain did not send them running; they stood silently — many holding American flag — as the hearse carrying an American hero departed on a 55-mile journey to Atmore. Along the way, some of Pensacola’s busiest roadways came to a complete standstill as the motorcade passed. Many motorists stood outside their vehicles and paid their respects. In Walnut Hill, just a few miles from Nelson’s boyhood home in Bratt, the motorcade slowed as it approached Ernest Ward Middle School. Nelson was Golden Eagle, attending Ernest Ward in the sixth and seventh grades.

Hundreds of Ernest Ward Middle School students and teachers dressed in red, white and blue lined Highway 97, American flags in hand, waiting for the arrival of the motorcade.

As the procession passed, the students stood with their hands over their hearts, waving Old Glory. The thunder of 127 Patriot Guard motorcycle riders vibrated the ground and echoed across the country fields near the school.

Six Florida Highway Patrol trooper vehicles led the hearse past the school. Many broke down in tears at the sight of a flag draped coffin. Others cried as they made eye contact with Nelson’s parents and their daughter  — a sixth grader at Ernest Ward.

The motorcade continued into Atmore, where crowds stood along the route, waving Old Glory. At a local bank on Highway 31, people stood with large flags as the Northview High School NJTROC stood steadfast at attention. Across the way at the iconic Atmore train station, a group of  local veterans stood proudly and saluted as Nelson’s remains passed.

Nelson’s funeral was held in Atmore where, again, hundreds paid their final respects.

Nelson was not forgotten. His name was added to the Walnut Hill Veterans Wall of Honor and other area memorials.  A scholarship was announced. The Bratt Community Park was renamed the LCpl. Travis M. Nelson Park. Nelson’s family was honored at the annual Veterans Day program at Ernest Ward Middle School.

Madeline Cates was to marry LCpl Travis Nelson when he returned from service with the Marines in Afghanistan. She had picked out her dress just before he lost his life serving his country half a world away in August.

“It wasn’t suppose to happen,” Madeline Cates said about the death her soulmate. “He was the love of my life.”

Cates, 21, decided that she would join the Marines to finish what Travis Nelson had started. She is due to report to boot camp in March 2012. After a NorthEscambia.com story was published about her decision, Cates’ story made international news.

Travis Nelson’s parents,  Scott and Beckie Nelson, just could not stand the thought of their first Christmas without their son. To take their minds off a Christmas without Travis in the house, they decided to give back to the communities that had supported them so much following his death.

The Nelson family, along with a small army of volunteers, prepared and delivered about 125 Christmas meals Sunday for elderly, shut-in and needy people in the Bratt, Atmore and surrounding areas.

“He really was our hero,” Scott Nelson said.

LCpl Travis Nelson left behind a short, simple note just in case he did return from the battlefield in Afghanistan.

“Dear friends and family, if you are reading this, I didn’t get to come home. I love each and every one of you. I have no regrets, I died for a meaningful cause.”

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.