Lance Cpl. Nigel K. Olsen

Lance Cpl. Nigel K. Olsen, 21, of Orem, Utah, died March 4 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.

By Marc Haddock Deseret News

The picture of the 6-year-old boy on the beach standing at attention and giving the camera a smart salute tells you everything you need to know about Lance Cpl. Nigel K. Olsen, said his sister, Stacy Hansen. "At the age of 3, he knew what he wanted to do," Hansen said. "He wanted to serve his country." Outside of her Orem home, a stone's throw from the home where Hansen and her brother grew up, neighbors are placing a row of U.S. flags and tying yellow ribbons around the flag pole to honor 21-year-old Olsen, who was killed Thursday, fighting in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Olsen moved to Salem two years ago with his parents, Todd and Kim Olsen, and lived there when he wasn't on training exercises. He also took classes at Utah Valley University. Hansen said her brother joined the Marine Reserve after his high school graduation but his interest in the military was a lifelong passion. "He would run around the neighborhood in his camos, playing war with the neighborhood kids," she said. "He was a great brother." During a recent telephone call, Hansen said Olsen had complained about not being as involved in some of the fighting as he would have liked. "The last time my mom talked to him, he was upset because they were not able to be in a gun battle," she said. "They ended up being in the thick of it." In his spare time, he liked playing Xbox and spending time with his family. "He loved Sunday dinners at my mom's house and playing with all of his nieces and nephews," she said.