By Justin George, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, August 26, 2010
TAMPA — Liza Natkin went to the Tampa's Sheriff's Operations Center on Thursday afternoon, bringing with her a montage of photos: her son's senior portrait, her son at the Keys, her son holding a rifle, flexing his muscles in the mirror, playing electric guitar.
Natkin, who is from Dover, wanted to tell the media all about the boy in the photos, Lance Corp. Nathaniel J.A. Schultz.
Schultz died Saturday as a result of a hostile incident while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, according to the Marine Corps. He was 19.
"Nate was very bright," Natkin said. "He was very funny. He had a sense of humor that didn't quit and he was always active, always doing something."
A gung-ho type of kid who was into demolition and disassembling bombs, Natkin said, Schultz died doing something that made him happy.
"Fortunately or unfortunately, he was my only son, my baby," Natkin said. "And he got what he wanted."
As a teenager, Schultz became sarcastic and made some poor choices, landing him at the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch in Safety Harbor. Those who knew him said the ranch made him grow up. At 17, he told his mother he wanted to join the Air Force and his mother told him to think about it. After more time at the ranch, he insisted he wanted to join the Marines.
His mother supported his decision.
Schultz graduated from Countryside High School in 2009 and worked part time at Sweetbay Supermarket on McMullen-Booth Road before joining the Marine Corps in June 2009. He was an assistant gunner assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7, I Marine Expeditionary Force Forward.
Schultz was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in June and was promoted to lance corporal Aug. 1.
"He never talked about how dangerous it was," Natkin said. "All his letters and all his phone calls were like he was on vacation."
Natkin recently got a letter from her son saying he was giving children in Afghanistan candy while teaching them English and them teaching him Arabic. One stole his water bottle, he wrote. When he ran out of candy, he gave them some of his caffeine gum.
A reporter at the Thursday press conference asked why she was choosing to share her memories with the public.
"Because there's babies over there," Natkin said. "There's babies like my son over there that shouldn't have to come home in box like him."