At some point before 2077, Nate served in the U.S. Army during the Sino-American War in the 2nd Battalion 108th Infantry Regiment, but eventually retired. At some point, he married Nora[2] and they had a son, Shaun. On the morning of October 23, 2077, Nate was preparing for an event at the Veteran's Hall in Concord[3] when a Vault-Tecrepresentative approaches the family and approves them for admittance into Vault 111.
Mere moments later, a news bulletin warns of an imminent nuclear attack, which forces Nate, Nora, and Shaun to rush to the vault prior to a nuclear bomb detonating nearby. After entering the vault, the family, along with all of the other admitted residents, are placed in cryo-sleep. If he was not chosen to be the player character, he will be executed by two mysterious figures, one of them being Kellogg, while attempting to stop them from kidnapping Shaun.
If he is selected to be the Sole Survivor, then the player chooses his name, appearance, and SPECIAL stats.
Even if he is not picked to be the player character, it is possible to edit his appearance before finalizing whether to play him or Nora.
On the Executive terminal in Fraternal Post 115 is a speech memo mentioning Nate being a decorated war hero.
If he is chosen to be Sole Survivor, the will be some instances in game where his time in the military is referenced.
When nearing the USS Constitution and is approached by the lookout, the lookout will mention his time in service with 108th Infantry Regiment in its 2nd Battalion.
His name in the E3 demo was Mr. Howard, which is the name of executive producer of Bethesda Game Studios, Todd Howard.
In the intro, the specific combat armor pieces he and his platoon wore were the sturdy legs, heavy arms, the standard chest piece, and a combat helmet.
The weapon Nate used in the intro is a standard laser rifle with a beam splitter modification.
Nate in the Wasteland
Nate (center) and a squad of soldiers during the Sino-American War.
Pre-War photo of Nate and Nora near Bunker Hill, from The Art of Fallout 4
