By Bonnie Washuk,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – When he was a freshman, Nicholas Babcock signed up for an Air Force Junior ROTC class at Lewiston High School.

“He thought it would be an easy science course. It turned into a lifestyle for him,” said his father, Phillip Babcock.

The talkative, outgoing teen who wanted to become a marine biologist died June 22 in a plane crash with three others.

Funeral services for Babcock were held Thursday at the Fortin Group Funeral Home in Auburn. Twenty-two Lewiston High ROTC members, in uniform, took part in the opening ceremony, giving Babcock a salute. Six cadets, Amanda Russell, Tyler Frazer, Travis Dyke, Kaprice Curry, Jason Field and Andrew Tracy, were honorary bearers.

Taps was played for all three students who died in the plane crash. At Babcock’s service there were 275 seats; all were taken, said funeral director Roger Bouffard.

Lewiston High principal Gus LeBlanc called the service “really moving. … It was difficult. He was a young man who was bigger than life. He had a big smile, a big laugh. He was well liked by the other cadets. It was a soft but fitting way to say goodbye to a friend.”

After the service, a group of 30 headed to Ogunquit for a burial at sea, Bouffard said. They were to board a boat, sail from shore and put an urn with Babcock’s ashes in the water. Then a wreath with “carpe diem” on its sash was to be dropped in the water.

Babcock loved the ocean, his father said the day before the service.

He remembered his son as a unique and bright young man who loved the ROTC. This fall would have been his fourth year with the program.

Babcock was eager to be involved in ROTC clubs and community service, said Col. Robert Meyer, supervisor of the school’s Junior ROTC program. Whenever Babcock had a free moment, he was in the ROTC classroom.

“He was there in the morning. He was there when he had free periods. He was there after school,” Meyer said. It didn’t matter if the activity was a drill, the color guard or community service. “He really loved it,” Meyer said.

Babcock was vocal, eager to participate in class, Meyer said. “He was a big-hearted kid.”

He was to be promoted to chief master sergeant at the end of the encampment, the day after the plane crash.

This fall he would have been a high school senior. “Our seniors run the program,” Meyer said. “They’re our officers. We were looking forward to Nick being a leader and running some of the programs.”

While ROTC was important to Babcock, he had other interests, his father said.

He loved football, baseball and video games. He was intrigued by eagles. He was a member of the chess club at school and participated in magic card tournaments at Zimmie’s.

Last month he took his girlfriend, Kate, to the high school prom. With a somber face, his father showed a framed picture of Kate in her gown, Nick in his tux. She’s “broken up” by the tragedy, Philip Babcock said.

In an online tribute to Babcock, one of his childhood friends remembered good times with Babcock: sleeping over and staying up late, trying new card games, playing video games. “You were my first best friend, and you will never be forgotten. Goodbye,” Ricky Daigle wrote in his www.dignitymemorial.com tribute.

Babcock’s teachers remembered him as being talkative in class. At times that got on their nerves, but they also remembered him as a happy teen, full of life, a student who brought fun and enthusiasm to class. Someone who always wore a smile in the halls.

After graduation in June 2007, Babcock was not planning to enter the Air Force, his father said. He wanted to attend the University of Maine at Machias to become a marine biologist.

“On the serious side he had aspirations,” his father said. “His favorite quote, which was in the yearbook, was carpe diem’ – seize the day.”

In the online tributes, both parents said his death has left them with broken hearts.

“Thank you for being my son,” his mother, Christine, wrote. “A mother could not be prouder than I am of you. Carpe diem, my love. Sleep well.”

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