SPECIAL Simon Chan Blog: Dedicated to the Memory of Kraig Vickers

I am not used to writing something like this… because this is the first time someone this close to me got killed…

This blog is dedicated to the memory of Kraig Vickers. Kraig was the husband of one of my good friends Nani and unfortunately Kraig got killed in action while serving his country in Afghanistan on Aug. 6, 2011.

On Monday morning, Aug. 8, I went to the gym for an early workout… while resting in-between my workout sets, I glanced at the TV and saw that they had CNN on and CNN had a mother, Mary Vickers, talking about her son that died over the weekend in Afghanistan. When I heard “Afghanistan” and the name “Vickers”, I immediately thought of my friend Nani and her husband Kraig… and hoped it was someone else… and then for the rest of the broadcast, CNN talked about the Virginia Beach community of where many of the befallen soldiers were from… and I knew Kraig and Nani lived in Virginia Beach. I was praying that it was not them and quickly ran back home to check online… and unfortunately, it was Kraig.

I was very sad and shocked… and rattled…

Kraig’s wife, Nani and I had worked closely together and I was one of her mentors. Back in June 2009, Kraig was in the Los Angeles area for some training so we thought it would be cool for Kelly and I to meet Kraig especially since Nani talked about him all the time. Kelly and I took him out to Cheesecake Factory in Redondo Beach that night.

It was the only time I ever met Kraig… but the memory that he left with me will last forever.

What impressed me about Kraig was he was a man that represented values that our generation needs. Not only was he a dedicated solider but he was God loving and also a great father and great husband. Kraig was definitely a fun loving guy and we had great conversation. I felt an instant bond towards him because of his beliefs and what he stood for. We had a long dinner and felt that it could have gone on even longer if it wasn’t for the fact that he had to go back and get some rest to prepare for his next day training.

After that dinner… in the upcoming months, Kraig lost a few close buddies in battle… and then not too long ago, he had gotten shot himself. But we never thought that it would actually happen to him.

Here is a short NBC broadcast on Kraig Vickers that was aired this week:

Please send your prayers (or thoughts) to Kraig’s family and especially to his wife and my friend, Nani Vickers. They have 2 small beautiful children and Nani is 7 months pregnant with their 3rd child. Nani is God loving and very strong but they could use all of our prayers and positive thoughts.

If you want to send anything, you can send to Nani’s address at:

Nani Vickers
2565 Pamlico Loop
Virginia Beach VA 23456

These incidents remind us of how lucky we are. We should be grateful and also thankful for those that protect us and for allowing us to live the life we have. Sometimes we just complain too much… I know you have your big problems and I have mine; but if everyone put all their problems on a table and asked you to “trade problems”, chances are you will end up keeping the problems you currently have.

Until next time,

Simon