Friends bid farewell to Newnan soldier killed overseas

NEWNAN, Ga.,None — Family and friends are gathering to pay their final respects to a local hero killed in a plane crash overseas last Saturday.

The funeral of  Capt. Nicholas Whitlock, a U.S. Air Force member, will be held Sunday, 3 p.m. at First Baptist Church in downtown Newnan.

The body of the Newnan airman was returned home Saturday after he was killed in a plane crash while servicing in Djibouti. The soldier's body arrived just before 10 a.m. at the Newnan-Coweta Airport.

After Whitlock's body arrived, The Patriot Riders then accompanied a procession to First Baptist Church in downtown Newnan for Whitlock's visitation Saturday afternoon.

Three other airmen lost their lives in Djibouti from the crash -- Capt. Ryan P. Hall, 1st Lt. Justin J. Wilkens and Senior Airman Julian S. Scholten.

• PHOTOS: Capt. Whitlock's body returned home

In lieu of flowers, Whitlock's family is asking people to make a donation to Special Operations Warrior Foundation in his honor. The Special Operations Warrior Foundation provides full scholarship grants and educational and family counseling to the surviving children of special operations personnel who die in operational or training missions, and immediate financial assistance to severely wounded special operations personnel and their families.

Contributions can be sent to:

Special Operations Warrior Foundation
P.O. Box 13483
Tampa, FL 33681-3483.

You can also make a contribution online by clicking here.

WSBTV