Cape Cod Marine veteran memorializes his best friend with documentary

When Andrew Coville attended night classes at Dennis Yarmouth Regional High School in the early 2000s, he was anxious, searching for purpose, and uninterested in schoolwork.

On the outside, his classmate, Nick Xiarhos, was on the opposite end of the spectrum.

"Nick was one of those guys in high school that made everyone feel like they were his best friend," Coville said, "I felt like Nick, from the moment I got to know him, had conviction, had a sense of self that most kids really lack."

Through fate and a call to service, both young men were drawn to the military and joined the Marine Corps at 17. Their enlistment turned the Yarmouth natives into best friends.

Now, 17 years after Marine Cpl. Nick Xiarhos was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, Coville is setting out to tell his friend's story through film. He is creating a documentary called "Living the Dream," in honor of Nick's last words to his parents.

"He said, 'Dad, I'm just tired and I can't wait to come home,'" said Nick's father, Steve Xiarhos, who described his last conversation with Nick to WBZ-TV.

Then Xiarhos, who is also a state representative, said his son changed his tone with his mother and said, "'There's nothing going on, don't worry about me, I'm living the dream.'"

The documentary will chronicle Nick and Andrew's time as Marines, from injuries during boot camp to a nation-building mission in Iraq and the dangerous deployment to the Helmand Province of Afghanistan, which ultimately led to Nick's death in 2009.

Coville is also traveling the country to speak with Marines who served with Nick, including a three-star general who lost 193 Marines under his command in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I want to tell Nick's story so that the whole world knows who he was, what he sacrificed, and the legacy that he leaves and also, in the process of that, tell the story of a whole generation of Marines who all volunteered and were all living their dream," Coville said.

For Xiarhos, the documentary is an opportunity to highlight Nick's mission and speak to a mission for all Americans.

"Living the dream to me means, live your dreams. Freedom is not free," Xiarhos said.