Iraq veteran Nicholas Bright now assists fellow wounded troops

As a freshman at Kinston High School, Nicholas Bright dreamed of being in the U.S. military to make a difference in peoples’ lives.

More than 20 years later, he is still fulfilling that goal.

“I think that the military is the only organization where, from the time you join, you are part of something that truly makes a difference in the lives of people all over the world,” Bright said.

Bright, who was born and raised in Kinston, spoke to The Free Press on Tuesday via Facebook chat from his duty station in Germany.

“It has been my honor to serve with the men and women of all of our armed services,” he said. “To be a veteran is to say that you have, for whatever reason, decided to serve, and if necessary give your life in defense of this great nation, and what it stands for.”

He said he would spend today’s Veteran’s Day holiday “with fellow veterans, talking about our years in the service, the friends we have lost, and our brothers and sisters still in harm’s way; hoping that they return to their families safe and sound.”

Now a platoon sergeant, Bright joined the U.S. Army during 1991 after he graduated from Kinston High.

His older brother, Gerald Bright of Kinston — one of 11 siblings — told him at the time that “if this is what your goal is, the feeling that you want to protect your country, the citizens of the United States and other places, then I felt that that was a worthy thing to do.”

Nicholas Bright, 36, has spent his 18-year career traveling around the world, including a stint in Iraq in 2005 and 2006.

On Sept. 14, 2006, Bright was standing with a group of fellow soldiers at their base in Baghdad when a truck packed with explosives blew up, killing three troops and wounding him and about 25 others.

“I know in my heart of hearts that their sacrifice was in defense of what they believed in,” he said.

Bright has spent the last three years in Germany — where he was stationed before being deployed to Iraq — recovering from a blast that left him with a “severe injury” to his lower right leg, burns on both forearms and hearing loss.

He said he will have a permanent limp, and has a hearing aid to compensate for the hearing loss.

Bright said his family, including his wife Lisa and 8-year-old daughter Maya and mother Helen were critical factors in his recovery.

“I don't think that I would have made it this far without them,” he said of his wife and daughter. “From the moment I was MEDEVAC’d from Iraq, they have both been there, even during some of the most trying days of physical therapy. I couldn't ask for a more supportive team.”

Bright’s mother, Helen, who he called “the greatest,” passed away Oct. 21; he returned to Kinston for her funeral.

“All of my recovery took place in Germany, but when I was having those bad days, she was only a phone call away,” he said. “She had the ability to say the right thing at just the right time, to put me back on track. Be it an encouraging word, or to tell me to never forget to pray, and it’s all in God's hands.”

Bright is currently assigned to the Army Medical Command in Germany, and is a member of Alpha Company, Warrior Transition Battalion-Europe, based in the city of Kaiserslautern. He works out of a detachment in the city of Baumholder, coordinating “wounded warriors” and their assorted counselors and medical personnel.

He shook hands and spoke with President Barack Obama during June when the commander-in-chief visited wounded troops at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, also in Germany.

“It’s one thing to watch (the president) on television, but to actually speak to him is one of those defining moments in a person's life,” Bright said.

David Anderson can be reached at 252-559-1077 or danderson@freedomenc.com.

Veteran’s Day events:

Kinston:

7a.m.— Veteran’s Day breakfast, Georgia K. Battle Center

U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield will attend

8 a.m.—Salute! committee members host flag-raising at courthouse

11 a.m. — American Legion Post 43 hosts annual Veteran’s Day ceremony

Snow Hill:

11 a.m.— Veteran’s Day ceremony at National Guard Armory

Vietnam War veteran and Greene County native James Speight will speak