
TOLEDO, Ore. — An Army medic from Oregon has died due to injuries from an explosion in Baghdad.
Sgt. Nicholas Lightner, 29, died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on March 21.
He was injured March 15 when an improvised explosive device went off as his unit was on patrol, the Army said.
His father, Bill Lightner, said his son enlisted four years ago and was deployed to Iraq in November.
“He went for the right reasons,” his father told The Oregonian newspaper. “After 9/11, he felt the need to do something, and that’s what he did.”
By the count kept by Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Lightner is the 84th person from Oregon or with strong...