Nicholas P. Spehar: "I Do It For You", Extortion 17
A Navy SEAL with SEAL Team 5, his parents' "miracle child," who volunteered for the deployment that took his life. He gave his life on August 6th, 2011, in the Extortion 17 helicopter crash in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, at the age of 24.
Service Record
- Branch
- USN
- Unit
- SEAL Team 5
- Station Assigned
- Coronado, CA
- Hometown
- Saint Paul, MN
- Family
- Survived by his parents, Patrick and Annette, and his siblings, Marie, Luke, Jacob, and Lisa.
- Fallen On
- August 6th, 2011
Born on October 19th, 1986, in Minneapolis and raised in Chisago City, Minnesota, Nicholas came into the world as his parents' "miracle child" after complications at birth. He graduated from Chisago Lakes High School in 2005, remembered as a quiet leader who excelled in football, baseball, and swimming while carrying academic honors alongside his athletics.
Nicholas entered the Navy in March 2007, completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, and graduated SEAL Qualification Training with Class 267, earning his Trident and assignment to SEAL Team Five on the West Coast. He later earned the Honor Man designation at Naval Special Warfare Lead Breacher and Sniper School, deployed to the Philippines and Yemen in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and then volunteered for a deployment to Afghanistan.
When asked why he had become a Navy SEAL, Nicholas answered simply: "I do it for you." Those who knew him described a young man of deep Catholic faith, a great sense of humor, and unwavering devotion to his family, so much so that he carried tattoos symbolizing each of them. He loved art, poetry, and music, and held a particular fondness for William Ernest Henley's "Invictus." Those who worked with him said if he told you he was going to do something, he did it.
On August 6, 2011, Petty Officer Spehar was aboard the CH-47 Chinook helicopter callsign Extortion 17, part of a Naval Special Warfare quick reaction force responding to support U.S. Army Rangers engaged with insurgent forces in Wardak Province. When the helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, all 38 aboard were killed, the greatest single-incident loss of life in Naval Special Warfare history.
Petty Officer Second Class Nicholas P. Spehar was 24 years old, the youngest of the fallen aboard Extortion 17, and he had volunteered for the mission that took his life. His faith, his devotion to his family, and his answer, "I do it for you," remain his lasting legacy.
To learn more about Nicholas P. Spehar and other fallen heroes, please visit:
On behalf of myself and everyone at BoneFrog Coffee, I want to express our deepest condolences to the family of Nicholas Spehar, who gave his life for our country. Words cannot capture the weight of this loss or the gratitude we feel for his courage and sacrifice. He was more than a warrior, he was a brother, a patriot, and a young man whose answer to why he served, "I do it for you," says everything about his heart. His sacrifice will never be forgotten, and his memory will live on in our hearts and in the values we strive to uphold. To his family and all those who loved him, we share in your grief and stand with you, honoring his legacy with unwavering respect and gratitude.
Long Live The Brotherhood!!
Tim Cruickshank LCDR, USN (SEAL) Ret. and the BoneFrog Coffee Team