After long wait, Royal Oak graduate’s name added to veterans memorial

ROYAL OAK — It was a long time coming, but Marine Corps Cpl. Nick Manoukian was immortalized on Royal Oak’s Veterans War Memorial.

Manoukian’s name was engraved on Oct. 24 on a bench in the war memorial plaza in Centennial Commons. The honor came just after the 17th anniversary of his death.

Manoukian’s mom, Mary, was in attendance to see the beginning of the engraving on the bench. Mary Manoukian said she’s almost thankful that her son being memorialized was happening now, because maybe someone can learn about her son and his story.

“It brings his name up again after 17 years and maybe people will read ‘Nicholas Manoukian,’” she said.

When her son died, Mary Manoukian said, the feeling she felt was that she died as well but kept breathing.

“At this stage in life, I thought I would be seeing him father his own children, teach them to play drums and draw and snowboard and be babysitting his kids and just watch him experience all the things he never had a chance to do,” she said. “So you grieve for them, but then you grieve for all the things they never had a chance to do, too, and Nick was 12 when his dad died. He went through a lot as a kid, but I’m sure they’re both up there smiling down saying, ‘It’s happening!’”

On Oct. 21, 2006, Manoukian died in Ramadi, Iraq, along with two other men when the Humvee he was in was hit with an improvised explosive device. He was 22.

For a name to be engraved on the Veterans War Memorial, the individual had to have either lived in Royal Oak or gone to school in the city for at least three years.

Manuokian was from Lathrup Village. However, it was unknown to the city that he was a graduate of Kimball High School in 2003, one of the high schools that existed in the city before they were consolidated to become Royal Oak High School.

“I think his name was just overlooked because he lived in Lathrup Village,” Community Engagement Specialist Judy Davids said.

Manoukian’s name was rediscovered thanks to his friend, LaKeesha Morrison. She had posted about him on Facebook two years ago on Memorial Day. The post was later found by the city.

“There was a series of messages on one of the Royal Oak residents pages and I realized that not a lot of people knew Nick Manoukian’s story,” she said. “I posted his face — a picture of it — on the page along with, like, a short description of where he resided and what school he went to and how he was a big impact in my life … and it just kind of snowballed from there where the city had reached out and was like, ‘We didn’t know of Nick. Now that we know, we would love to have him be a part of this memorial.’”

Morrison had met Manoukian her freshman year at Kimball and they became good friends. Seeing her friend memorialized was a bittersweet feeling, as it was a long time coming, but Morrison said to see him be acknowledged was exciting.

Morrison remembered her friend as someone who was super funny and who was able to make friends with everyone.

“One thing that has impacted all of his friends and family is the hugs that he would give,” she said. “It would be bear-like hugs where he lifts you up off the ground and just squeezes on you. He’s a good friend.”

It was during Manoukian’s time in high school that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred. Mary Manoukian said this made a big impact on her son and led to him enlisting in the Marines.

“He really wanted to serve his country,” she said. “As his mom, I would rather he just pursued a different interest, but he said, ‘Someday I want to tell my children and grandchildren that I went to war to help protect them so the war didn’t come here.’”