Honor For Norco's Fallen 'Home Town Hero' Awaits Biden's Signature

NORCO, CA — A federal bill proposing to rename the Norco Post Office in honor of a U.S. Marine killed during a suicide bombing in Afghanistan is bound for the White House, where it will await the president's signature.

House Resolution No. 5809, authored by Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, was approved by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

The proposal, which the U.S. House of Representatives approved in July, seeks to rename the Norco Post Office for Marine Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui, who was among 11 Marines and two other service members killed on Aug. 26, 2021, when an Islamic State terrorist detonated explosives that he had carried onto the perimeter of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul during the chaotic evacuation of U.S. forces and diplomats.

Nearly 100 Afghans were slain or wounded in the bombing.

"The United States Congress has now acted to honor and recognize the extraordinary sacrifice of Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui," Calvert said. "Nikoui has been gone for more than a year now, but we still remember, we still grieve, and we still celebrate the incredible impact he made. With the Norco Post Office named in his honor, we will forever pay tribute to a true Norco hero. I appreciate my colleagues on both sides of the aisle supporting my legislation and look forward to it becoming law in the coming days."

In January, a memorial recognizing Nikoui, his fellow fallen Marines, and the U.S. Navy corpsman and Army soldier who died with them was established in front of the Norco Country Center on Sixth Street.

The "Memorial for the Fallen 13" features a plaque saluting Nikoui as "Our Home Town Hero." A remembrance service paying homage to the Leatherneck and his comrades was held there last month.

In 2019, the Riverside County native graduated from Norco High School, where he was involved in the J-ROTC program. He enlisted in the Marines soon after and was part of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton.