DEADLY ARMY EXPLOSION: This is a very hard blow says grieving father

DEAD: Guyana Defense Force Lance Corporal Kevon Nicholson 

By Leroy Smith

Former Guyana Defense Force member Michael Nicholson is one of those men who never wanted his son to follow in his footsteps; in this case.. joining the GDF.  On Thursday afternoon the senior Nicholson reminisced on the character of his son, 23-year-old Guyana Defense Force Lance Corporal Kevon Nicholson who was killed earlier in the day by an explosion at the GDF’s Base Camp Stephenson, Timehri, East Bank Demerara.

Standing in his yard at the family’s Levi Dam Angoy’s Avenue home where Lance Corporal Kevon Nicholson lived, the senior Nicholson who also served in the army spoke of how the family became aware of the tragedy before officially being contacted the GDF.

“I was out on the road when I got a call about 10:30 that my son died. I drove and when I reached home his mother told me that my sister from Georgetown called and told her that Kevon reach up in some incident where there was an explosion at Timehri and he died. The army then called me around 12:01 and confirmed it” Mr. Nicholson recalled.

The explosion at the base according to the Guyana Defense Force occurred at 09:00hours while the ranks were involved in the preparation of pyrotechnics for demolition. Nicholson along with two other ranks met a gruesome death while two others were injured.

A humble Nicholson in happier times

Lance Corporal Kevon Nicholson before joining the Guyana Defense Force three years ago, attended the New Amsterdam Technical Institute where mechanical engineering was his area of study. He abandoned the course there to join the army in a quest to earn his own money.

What happened at Base Camp Stephenson on Thursday morning both sudden and recorded as a hard blow for the Nicholsons’

“This is a very hard blow because It seems like just the other day I buried my daughter, I never wanted him to go into the army, he was attending TI (New Amsterdam Technical Institute) but he left off and went to join the army, I did not want him to; I use to be in the army and I know how it is,” a heartbroken Nicholson told BIG Smith News Watch.

Kevon’s sister, 22-year-old Lonette Nicholson was stabbed to death by her husband back in December 2016 whole in duty at the New Amsterdam Psychiatric Hospital. Mr. Nicholson said that her death at the time was both sudden and hard and it seems as just yesterday he lost his daughter and now he forced to deal with the death of another child.

The last of five children- Kevon, was described as a very loving, caring, and calm young man according to his father. Mr. Nicholson recalled that when his son comes home to Berbice from work on weekends, he would spend most of his time in his room and would only go on the road when absolutely necessary.

“He is a man who would sit down and play games, he likes to playing games on his phone and that was mostly it, very quiet young man” his father recalled.

Kevon was last at home on Tuesday last according to his father who said he was sitting on the stairs as the young officer left to return to work. He recalls the young children asking “uncle you leaving already?’ to which Kevon answered “Yes babies I have to go back to work, uncle loves you all”

Coronavirus 

It is devastating to lose a loved one at any given time but with the coronavirus pandemic which dictates that persons exercise social distancing, this could prove to be an added pain for the Nicholason family as they are aware that persons who would like to meet and conform them cannot do so and as well as those who would like to pay their final respects to the fallen soldier.

Michael Nicholson told BIG Smith News Watch that they have a large and extended family and lots of friends. He said that since the incident, persons have been calling and messaging but the family is presently between a rock and hard place when it comes to accomodating sympathizers and safeguarding themselves from the deadly coronavirus.

“Well, this is what we are studying because the family is indeed big so maybe the army may just have to handle the burial because we cannot have any big gathering because of the coronavirus but people are still calling us” Nicholson told BIG Smith News Watch.

Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, President David Granger on Thursday after learning of the tragedy at the Base Camp Stephenson, expressed condolences to the relatives of the deceased soldiers and wished a speedy recovery for the ranks who are still being treated for their injuries.