BOSTON -- A Yarmouth police lieutenant said his worst nightmare has been realized after his Marine son was killed in Afghanistan.

Police Lieutenant's Son Killed In Afghanistan

Nicholas Xiarhos, 21, was killed in a roadside bombing, his father, Lt. Steve Xiarhos said. He joined the Marines after graduating from Dennis Yarmouth Regional High School.

Steve Xiarhos told NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper that his son was an American hero, and that for three years he lived with a nightmare of "seeing my son in a casket, and now it's happened."

The Marine had completed a tour in Iraq and volunteered to serve again in Afghanistan, his family said. He had been in Afghanistan for two months.

Steve Xiarhos and the Yarmouth Police Department planned a 30-mile bicycle ride in memory of soldiers who had connections to Cape Cod, including fallen soldier Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter, who saved Nicholas Xiarhos' life.

Haerter was killed in an attack in Iraq in April 2008.

Steve Xiarhos said that Saturday's ride will go on as scheduled and that his son will now be one of the men honored during the event.

Money raised from the Cape Cod Ride for the Fallen will help men and women of the Armed Forces who have been seriously injured overseas.

The ride will start at 9 a.m. at the beginning of the Cape Cod Rail Trail on Route 134 in Dennis and will end in Wellfleet.

The Xiarhos family will meet the Marine's body at Dover Air Force base in Delaware on Saturday.

A scholarship fund has been set up in Nicholas George Xiarhos' name by the Yarmouth Police Relief Association. Donations may be sent to:

Yarmouth Police Department
Att: YPRA
One Brad Erickson Way
West Yarmouth, MA 02673

Donations should be labeled: Nicholas George Xiarhos Scholarship Fund.