Nick Popaditch: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 18:05, 3 November 2010
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Nick Popaditch (born July 2, 1967) was the unsuccessful 2010 Republican candidate for the 51st Congressional District of California. He is a medically retired United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant and is a recipient of the Silver Star and Purple Heart.
Military career
Popaditch was born in East Chicago, Indiana and was raised in Terre Haute, Indiana. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1986, served as a tank commander, and eventually rose to the rank of sergeant. He saw action in the first Gulf War in 1991 and was honorably discharged in 1992.
In 1995 he rejoined the Marines and served with the 1st Tank Battalion at Twentynine Palms, California and later became a drill instructor at MCRD San Diego.
During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Popaditch was assigned as a tank commander and platoon sergeant. Fighting at the “tip of the spear,” his unit gained fame when it helped topple the statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square in April 2003. An Associated Press photographer snapped a photograph of Popaditch in his tank’s cupola smoking a cigar with the statue of Saddam looming in the background.[1] The image, which earned him the nickname “The Cigar Marine,” appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the globe. Following his return to the United States as a Gunnery Sergeant, Popaditch volunteered to return to Iraq in 2004.
Popaditch was awarded the Silver Star for actions in combat in April 2004 during Operation Vigilant Resolve (the First Battle for Fallujah). During the same battle, he was wounded in action by a rocket propelled grenade to the head. Blinded, he was evacuated to Germany and then back to the United States. He lost his right eye. At Bob Wilson Naval Hospital in San Diego, most of the vision in his remaining left eye was restored by the hospital’s medical professionals. Popaditch was medically retired at the rank of Gunnery Sergeant.
Civilian career
Popaditch is an active advocate of veteran’s issues. In addition to advising and consulting, he serves on the boards of multiple organizations advancing the care of wounded warriors and their families. Popaditch additionally is finishing his California state teaching credential in social science at San Diego State University.
In 2008 Popaditch authored (with Mike Steere) Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander’s Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery,[2] (Savas Beatie LLC, 2008), which earned a coveted spot on the Commandant of the Marine Corps' recommended professional reading list for all ranks, won The Military-Writers Book of the Year for 2009, and was a national book club selection.
Popaditch resides in Chula Vista, California with his wife April and their two sons, Richard and Nicholas, Jr.
2010 Congressional Campaign
On November 10, 2009 Popaditch announced his campaign for California's 51st Congressional District as a Republican.[3] The incumbent, Democrat Bob Filner, has held the seat since 1992. It is viewed by most as a Democratic district, though George W. Bush earned 46% of the vote there in 2004. Popaditch was endorsed by former Congressman Duncan Hunter and cited his "love of country" for why he was running for political office.[4] He had also been endorsed by former presidential candidate and Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee. He was unopposed in the Republican primary.