Portrait of a Hero — Nicholas Orchowski

Nicholas Orchowski enlisted in the Army in April of 2003 following his father’s footsteps of serving in the military. Like many service members in Iraq, Corporal Orchowski was motivated to serve his country by the 9/11 terrorist attacks on his country.

In February of 2004, one month before his deployment to Iraq, Nick and his fiancé, Jamie, got married.

By March, Nick was stationed in Baghdad as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was assigned to serve as a military police officer and to help train the Iraqi police to aid in the establishment of their new government.

Corporal Orchowski’s life changed dramatically just two months after his deployment. He and his team were in the lead vehicle of their convoy during a routine security mission. Nick was stationed as a lead gunner.

The convoy’s middle vehicle was loaded with weapons, ammunition, food and other important supplies for the troops. Ensuring its safe passage to their final destination was the unit’s primary objective.

As they traveled, Corporal Orchowski noticed that things appeared to be unusually quiet. When they came upon an Iraqi civilian truck that was blocking the way, Corporal Orchowski did his job and directed it to the side of the road. The truck complied.

But as they passed the vehicle, Nick made eye contact with one of its passengers. He knew instantly that something was not right.

The force of the impact threw Corporal Orchowski from the gunner’s hatch onto the road as it demolished the humvee’s front end. Fortunately for the rest of his unit, the C4 explosives packed in the civilian truck did not detonate and destroy the convoy as intended.

When Nick regained consciousness, a field medic was protecting him and preventing him from moving. He could hear rounds of ammunition going off all around him.

The extent of Corporal Orchowski’s injuries were unknown. He was quickly transported to a field hospital for surgery. Once stabilized, he was moved stateside to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C.

That’s when he finally learned the seriousness of his injuries. He had four fractured vertebrae in his back and was paralyzed on his right side.

Nick’s family and his young wife, Jamie, who was six months pregnant with their first child, were soon by his side. Together, with the love and prayers of a nation, and the helpful guidance of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, they began rebuilding their future.

Today, Nick is training to be a National Service Officer for the Paralyzed Veterans, so he can help other veterans who return from serving their country with spinal cord and other life-altering injuries.

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